Hello Again
by completerandomness12
Summary: Bella is a famous Hollywood comedian. One day at Jay Leno she meets her former high school crush Hollywood hearthrob Edward Cullen. Were the feelings mutual? Hilarity ensues.
1. Chapter 1

**HELLO AGAIN**

**By completerandomness12**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any other Stephanie Meyer work. Only the plot is my own.**

**It's baaaaack! I would like to thank TraciSnow for helping me get the first nineteen chapters of this story back, and Dollybigmomma, for making them readable.**

**I never got a chance to make a banner for this story. Any takers?**

**Chapter 1- Starting the Day**

Beep…beep…beep…

"Fuck!" I shouted to myself as my alarm clock went off for the sixth time this morning. Considering the fact that I was not a morning person at all, I wondered how I had gotten into the industry that required me to wake up at the ass crack of dawn every fucking day. But, to be truly honest, I wondered how I had gotten into this business at all. How did an awkward, socially-isolated girl from Georgia end up in Hollywood as a comedienne? I asked myself this same question frequently.

My phone started going off, Lady Gaga's _Fashion _blaring obnoxiously at me.

Whose ringtone was that?

"Hello?" I asked in my groggy, I'm-still-sleepy voice as I tried not to drop my phone. "Who is this?"

"Hello, Ms. Swan, this is Alice Brandon. I'm your new assistant, remember? I'm calling to finish waking you up. I remember you said that you never wake up on time. I'll be at your house in ten minutes and I'm bringing coffee! Oh, and donuts!" she said in a rushed voice. I didn't think she'd even taken a breath.

Alice Brandon. How could I describe her? If I had to sum her up in one word, I'd say…perky. Yes...very, very, very perky. That was a good quality to have, seeing that it took a whole lot of perk to get my ass out of bed in the morning.

When I was looking for an assistant, I only had two criteria. One, don't be a yes person. Have your own opinion. Two, be able to take a joke. It seemed that in this town, people would do anything to be accepted and would go along with anything someone said to not rock the boat. I needed someone who could keep me in line, still let me have my fun, and have fun themselves. Kind of like a babysitter. I was not a fan of the whatever-you-say-goes attitude of a brown-noser. Also, people took themselves too seriously. Come on. Live a little. I was not saying go out and do coke every other day, but geez!

I found that in Alice…by accident. On a rare occasion when I actually chose to go shopping, I went to Fred Segal. As I was walking around after trying on an outfit, I was tapped on the shoulder by a short, pixie-like woman with jet-black spiky hair. She introduced herself and told me that the jeans I was trying on made my ass look fat. I thought her honesty was funny so we started talking and found that we clicked. So I tested her. I made a joke about how short she was, asking if she had to use two booster seats as a kid. It was harmless. The joke was met with loud laughter. She then told me that I dressed like a homeless street whore. It was love after that. I hired her on the spot.

"Thanks, Alice, but just call me Bella. My mother won't even let anyone call her Mrs. Swan," I said with a small chuckle.

After ending the phone call, I hopped in the shower and let the hot water release the tension in my body. When I was done, I put on a t-shirt that said, "STOP reading my shirt!" along with some blue jeans and red converse and headed downstairs to see Alice waiting for me with the aforementioned coffee and donuts. My German shepherd, Captain, was running in circles around her, sniffing the bag as she tried to keep it out of his reach. She looked terrified.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"I just didn't know you had a big dog, that's all," she squeaked as her eyes followed Captain like she was waiting for something bad to happen. I couldn't help but laugh.

"It's okay," I grinned as I took the bag from her and gave the dog a donut. "He's was just sniffing you for drugs."

"What!"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. He's an ex-police dog. He was a member of the LAPD K-9 unit. They retired him from the force and were going to take him to the Humane Society. He was too cute for doggie jail so I saved him. He does that to everybody when he first meets them and he doesn't bite. Don't be scared."

I figured I'd have to gradually ease these two together, so I took Captain and put him back in his room. That was right. My dog had his own room in my house. Don't judge me. I loved that damn dog. When I got back, I was met with a much calmer Alice.

"Good morning," she said as she wrapped her small arms around me. "I'm so excited to be working with you. We're going to be great friends."

I couldn't help but share her sentiment. This chick radiated happiness. My dad always told me to surround myself with good people. Alice was a good person. I could tell.

"I think we're gonna be awesome friends, too. You brought me food. I love you already. What's on the agenda today?" I thought today was going to be rough so I wanted to get started as soon as possible.

"Well…" she drawled as she scrolled through Terry the Blackberry, looking at my schedule, "It's not that bad. You have a meeting with the studio at ten o'clock to discuss the finale. Then you have that photo shoot for Glamour at two o'clock. Then we have Jay Leno at eight o'clock to do the promo for your comedy special and _Time_."

"That's it? Way to go, Alice. Mad props on your scheduling game."

"Thanks, I try," she winked, giggling while popping her invisible collar. "Working smart doesn't mean you have to work hard. Well, I'll wait for you to get dressed and we can get to the meeting. It's almost nine o'clock already so hurry up."

"I am ready." This statement caused her to howl in laughter.

"Oh, my God, you're hilarious in real life, too! Do you write your own material?" she questioned between breaths. "Come on and get dressed. We need to leave in thirty."

"I know. I'm ready."

"You're…not joking. You're really planning on wearing that?" she asked as if my question held the answer to all the world's problems. This was the problem with being a comedienne. People always thought you were joking.

"Yeah? I don't see anything wrong with it."

As soon as the sentence left my mouth, I saw a little black blur heading upstairs into my room. I heard the sound of opening and closing drawers, followed by a loud shriek. After five minutes, I went upstairs to check on her. She'd been up there a long time. I was scared something had happened to her.

When I looked in my room, I noticed my clothes thrown all over the floor with a frustrated Alice in the center of the chaos.

"Jeans and t-shirts, that's all?" she asked me with a pout that made me feel somewhat guilty. I didn't know why I felt guilty, but I did. I'd bet her daddy gave her everything she wanted as a kid. She was good.

"No," I replied. It sounded more like a question. "I prefer comfort over fashion."

"But you don't even own one pair of heels. How can you be twenty-eight years old and not own at least one pair of heels?"

"Alice, you saw that video on YouTube, right?"

Someone out in cyber land thought it would be funny, and it was, to edit together every public fall I'd ever taken and post it on that godforsaken website. I think it had like twenty million views now. They put Fergie's _Clumsy_ as the music in the background. It was a clever choice. "It's okay. You can laugh. I did."

Alice nodded her head and giggled to herself.

"If I can barely stand upright in flats and sneakers, what makes you think I can do it in heels?"

"It's okay. We can go shopping after your meeting with the studio. But right now, we need to get going."

"Alrighty then, let's hit it. Do you want to ride with me?"

"Okay."

As we were leaving, I let the dog out of his room and put food in the bowl for him. Once he was finished, we went into the garage and got into my 1967 Ford GT Mustang and started to make our way into the studio. After we dropped Captain off at the groomer's, we talked and got to know each other further. I almost felt like a normal woman talking to one of her friends. Then we pulled up to the studio and I remembered what I was here for.

"You nervous?" Alice asked with a concerned voice as we were stepping out of the car. She must have sensed my hesitation.

"I'm not nervous, I'm just dreading going up there," I said in a deadpan tone.

"You'll do fine. It's never as bad as you think it is," she reassured me while patting me on the back.

"You're right. It'll probably be worse." I hit my head against my palm repeatedly, trying to prepare myself for the impending torture.

"Stop being a drama queen and go to the damn meeting. You're just going to discuss shit for the series finale of the show. I repeat; it won't be that bad. Do you want me to come with you?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Oh, please," she said laughing, "The pout won't work with me. I invented it. I'll go."

As we were waiting for the elevator, I took a long and hard look at myself in the mirrored hallway. I was 5 feet 4 inches tall, an average height, and I was an average weight. I had boring brown eyes and a slightly olive-toned complexion due to my grandmother's Jamaican heritage on my father's side.

I considered myself to be an average girl. I didn't know why I was famous. I was not even pretty, really. However, I must mention my hair, which was a thick brown and fell down to my lower back. I was known for my hair…and my rack. People had been saying they were fake for years. Sorry, haters, but my 36DD girls were homegrown and all natural. Personally, I thought it was weird. Maybe Angelina felt the same way when people talked about her lips.

"BELLA!" Alice shouted as she waved her hand in my face. "Stop checking yourself out and get in the elevator," she chuckled and dragged me in.

As we ascended, I stood in complete silence and prayed that this meeting would go well. I just wanted to talk about the finale and do a run-through of the episode, nothing more and nothing less.

In Jesus name I prayed, Amen.

The sound of the elevator's doors opening broke me out of my bubble and we head toward the boardroom, or as I liked to call it, the "Fuck You" room. It seemed that for the past four years, every time I set foot in that room, something had happened to piss me off. The last time was no exception. I was legally prohibited to say what had happened, but let's just say they'd had to call security and everyone who had been present at the time had had to sign a gag order. Yep, we were one big happy TV family, lawyers and all.

I was a part of the NBC hit comedy series, _Halfsies_. It was about two women, played by Jessica Stanley and Theresa Sanders, who were half-sisters. They didn't know each other existed until the death of their father, who happened to be a famous rock star. They couldn't agree on who got what from the estate so they split everything down the middle and lived in their father's penthouse apartment together. Hilarity ensued. I played their nosy, witty, yet somewhat-ditsy neighbor.

When I thought of how things used to be, it made me both happy and sad. The three of us got along well for the first three of seasons. We were just happy to be on a show that was successful. I still felt that way. Then, egos got in the way. It wasn't long before someone *cough* Jessica *cough* started to become a diva and getting on everybody's nerves. She felt that she was the star of the show and demanded more screen time, in addition to becoming an all-around bitch to any and every one there.

However, the truth was I was the audience's favorite character, so I got more screen time than she did. This caused her to become almost unbearable and twice as bitchy towards me. She'd try to make me miss my cues and tried to steal everyone's lines while we were taping. Everyone got fed up. We'd been under contract for four more seasons, though, so no one could leave without getting sued. It was terrible. When we were given the option to sign on for another two seasons, everyone declined the offer.

Now, after eight years, eight seasons, and two hundred episodes, we were in our last season, preparing for our last two episodes. It was kind of bittersweet.

We finally arrived to the boardroom and took our seats, waiting for the meeting to start.

"Well, well, well," the voice I'd come to loath said from across the table, "Look who finally decided to show up."

"Jessica, it's too early to have to deal with your shit," I replied curtly.

"I'm just saying," she said with a sly grin on her plastic face. "Some of us professionals manage to get here on time. I was an hour early."

"Cut your shit. It's 9:45. No one here is late. The only reason why you were here early is because you were probably blowing a writer or producer for more screen time," I said with a level voice as I surfed the internet on my iPhone. This happened so frequently I didn't even get mad anymore.

The tension in the room was broken by the sound of Alice giggling while covering her mouth. She was trying really hard not to laugh. It was funny.

"Listen, you bitch-"

"Ladies!" Theresa interrupted as she walked through the door, "Let's try and make it through this meeting without security being called, shall we?"

"Okay," we said in unison. Theresa was like the mother on set. Even though she was in the same age group as us, she was the peacemaker. Everyone loved her. She had decided to marry her boyfriend and settle down after the show was over. I wished I was that mature.

After another five minutes of awkward silence, the writers and producers came in and we began the meeting. The producers told us that the last episode would be filmed live. It was always fun filming live so I thought it was a great way to end the show.

After the meeting was over, Alice came over and hugged me. That was the third one today. She was definitely a hugger.

"I'm sorry. It was worse than I thought. She's horrible," Alice offered apologetically.

"It's okay. I won't have to deal with her much longer."

We exited the building and began to drive towards what I considered my personal Hell, Rodeo Drive. As we got closer and closer to the dreaded strip of land, I could feel Alice vibrating with excitement.

"I'm so excited. It's like I'm your personal shopper or something."

"Don't I get a say?" I asked with genuine amusement.

"Honey, that's how we got here in the first place," she deadpanned and then began to laugh at her own joke, by herself.

"It's not that bad."

"Oh, yes it is. It's too bad we only have an hour. I'd like to have more time to shop for you," she nodded as she looked me over. "Have you had a pedicure?"

"No," I replied laughing. "Should I?"

"YES! What if I get you open-toed shoes?" she gasped.

"Well, I'd do-"

"Don't even say it," she interrupted me to send a text on her phone. "I had an appointment today at the nail salon. I just called and gave them your name. You can have my appointment. Go to this address. Meet me in front of Gucci at 1:30pm," she ordered as she wrote down an address and shoved it into my hand before taking my credit card and jumping out of the car.

"O…kay," I replied as I watched her flit away. I sighed and pulled away, heading to the damn salon. For some reason, I was scared of what Alice would have done if I didn't. I liked her, but the chick was a little scary.

After I was finished, it took me twice as long to drive because I didn't want to smear the polish. Why did girls do this? As I pulled up in front of Gucci, I was shocked to see Alice surrounded by at least ten shopping bags. She tossed them into the back seat before she hopped in. I looked at the tags in the bags and gasped at the names and how much everything cost...Gucci, Prada, Louboutin, Fendi, Dior, Louis Vuitton, La Perla, and Chanel. Oh, my God!

She was going to shop me into the poorhouse.

"Alice!" I shrieked in shock. "I can't believe this!" This must have cost a fortune!

"I know, I'm sorry, I only had forty-five minutes so this is the best I could do. I'll buy more next time, I promise."

"Are you serious? You think I'm _disappointed_ there isn't _more_? I just can't believe you bought this much," I groaned as I looked through the bags. "It all looks good, though. Wow. It takes me an hour and a half to pick out a pair of jeans when I come here and you practically buy me a new wardrobe in half the time. I'm speechless."

"Oh." She relaxed her shoulders, not that she realized she wasn't in trouble. "I brainstormed ideas in the car. I just had to find what I was looking for. If I'd had more time, I could've experimented. I got you the basics."

"Thanks. I've never really gone shopping with anyone before so this whole thing, even if I didn't really go, is new to me."

"Really? Well, we'll fix that quick!" she replied with a far-off glint in her eyes. She looked too excited. I was afraid, very afraid. "Let's get you to this shoot!" she grinned as we drove off to the site of the photo shoot.

I understood that photo shoots were essential to your image in this business. However, it didn't change how much I disliked them. I didn't like being poked, probed, and primped to look like this glamorous person that I was not. It was awkward to say the least.

We arrived at this set with a low-hanging chandelier and red paint on the walls. There was a black grand piano in the corner. It looked like an authentic 1920s lounge. It looked cool. The next stage was set up more like a bedroom. As I looked around the stage, I was approached by a tall woman with light brown hair and blonde highlights. "Hello, Ms. Swan…"

"Please," I said as I politely stopped her, "Just call me Bella."

"Well, Bella," the woman who introduced herself as Bailey started, "Your assistant notified us that you have a very tight schedule today so this won't take long. We only have three different looks for you this afternoon, followed by a short thirty-minute interview."

"Wow!" I said astonished. "That's good. I have the best assistant ever," I winked as I nudged Alice in her ribs.

"You sure do. I am rather awesome. I helps that I have the best boss," Alice smirked.

"Ass kissery gets you nowhere."

"Oh, well," she shrugged, "I tried."

"Okay, let's get started."

After getting my hair and makeup done and signing a few autographs, we finally started the shoot. For the first set of pictures in the lounge scene, they had me wear what looked to be a man's suit jacket that had been tailored to look more like a dress. It was grey with light blue pinstripes and it hit me at mid-thigh. They put my hair up in a side twist and had me don a grey fedora hat with a blue satin border. The outfit was really low-cut in the front, so they tied a light blue tie around my neck and tucked it into the dress.

Next, I posed in a set of black high-wasted shorts and a red bra for the bedroom shoot. They put all my hair up in curlers. I guessed they were going for a vintage glam look. I felt a little weird being around a stage full of people in just my bra, but I got through it. Last, which was my favorite, we took the shoot outside to a garden and I had on a pair of light-washed blue jeans with a thin white wife beater, and my hair was left straight and simple. I liked it; though it would have been better had they allowed me to wear a bra.

What was the deal about my boobs?

Once we were done, I put my original clothes back on before I set out to find the room for the interview so I could get it over with and go home. When I stepped out of the dressing room, I saw a familiar black blur and was stopped by Alice's tiny arms engulfing me. That was the fourth hug today. I saw that I was going to have to get used to this whole hugging thing. I hugged her back.

"Oh, my God! You did so well! You looked so pretty in that dress-jacket thing!"

"Alice, breathe. Thanks for the compliment. Though, I did tell you that kissing my ass won't get you anywhere," I said as I laughed.

"It's not ass-kissing if it's true. We need to make our way to the interview room."

The interview was surprisingly painless. The whole ordeal only took two hours, so I was ready to go home. After I picked up Captain from the groomers, we headed straight to McDonald's.

"Hello, I'll have a Big Mac, a Southern Chicken Sandwich, a large fries, and a large Coke. You want anything, Alice?"

"You're eating that all by yourself?"

"Yep. Captain doesn't like McDonald's. He's more of a Burger King kind of guy."

"I'm not that hungry."

"Okay." I turned to the speaker at the drive thru. "Hello?"

"Yes. Are you done with your order?"

"Yeah. Wait! No! Can you supersize it? And add a Happy Meal on for my friend!" I added as I laughed at the last part, which earned me a punch from Alice.

"What?" I asked. "I'm doing you a favor because if you ask for a bite or sip of anything, I'm gonna say no."

As we pulled up to the cash window, the cashier recognized me. "Oh, shit! You're Bella Swan! Oh, my God, you are _so_ funny! _Chart_ _Toppers_ is like the funniest movie ever! Can I have your autograph?"

"Sure."

"Hey, guys, look! Bella Swan is at drive-thru window one!"

At that moment, five or six more employees came out and started to take pictures with their phones and asking for autographs. As I paid my money, I noticed that the line was backing up behind my car.

"Look, guys, the line is getting pretty hefty." I noticed the drop on their faces. They thought I was leaving. "I'll pull into a parking spot and I'll sign autographs and do pictures. I don't want anyone's food getting cold."

As I pulled into the space, I noticed several employees as well as a few customers come towards the car. I stepped out and posed with my fans for pictures and signed autographs. I even talked with some of the fans and offered advice to a young girl trying out for a school play. Overall, it took around twenty minutes. I didn't want anyone to feel slighted. It made me feel good to see the smiles on their faces. It was times like this that made me glad I did what I did. Another employee thanked me with two fresh-made McGriddles. After ten thirty in the morning? Hell yeah!

Fuck, I loved McGriddles!

After everyone was satisfied, I got back into the car and pulled out onto the street. I couldn't be sure, but I thought I heard a scream coming from inside the restaurant. Weird.

"That was really cool of you, Bella," Alice said as she took a bite of her cheeseburger. Ha! I knew she was hungry. "You didn't have to do that. I knew you were tired."

"It's cool. They're my fans. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them. I owe them. What's twenty minutes of my time, anyway?" Then, Alice hugged me. Again.

Was this normal?

We made our way back to the house. After my feast, and Captain stealing one of my McGriddles, I started to get the ingredients for cupcakes ready.

"Bella, what are you making?"

"Cupcakes."

"You're still hungry? How do you stay so skinny?"

"They aren't for me. I mean, I'll probably steal a couple, but they aren't for me. They're for the cast, crew, and guests of Jay Leno."

"You bake? You bake cupcakes for Jay Leno?"

"It's my thing. Every time I do a talk show, I bring baked goods. I'm thinking chocolate mint for tonight."

"You're weird."

"I know. That's what keeps me somewhat interesting. Now get over here and help me."

After the cupcakes were out of the oven and iced, I noticed Alice lusting over them. "Go on," I said as I waved the heavenly treat in front of her face. "Eat it. You know you want to. Alice…Alice..." I taunted her in a ghostly tone.

"Damn you!" she screamed at me as she snatched the cupcake out of my hand and inhaled half of it in one bite. I took one and joined her.

"Good, huh?"

"Yes! I think my panties just got damp. You could've been a baker with these things. You could make a fortune."

"I try."

Speaking of fortunes…

"Alice, how much did those clothes cost?"

"I don't know, fifteen, maybe twenty thousand?"

As soon as I heard the word thousand, my legs gave out and I fell to the floor. I'd never spent that much money at once, with the exception of my house. The thought of spending that much money on clothes literally made me feel sick.

"Stop it, Bella! Clothes with labels like that cost money. The first trip always cost the most. I got you basic stuff. The rest will just be icing on the cake. Besides, you got paid like nine hundred thousand dollars per episode of _Halfsies_ for the last two seasons. Then you did _I Hope They Serve Martinis in Hell_, which was fucking hilarious, and you have another movie coming out. I won't even count royalties. You're set for life. You were in Forbes for Christ sakes. Relax."

"You don't understand. My family didn't have a lot of money coming up. I hate spending money when I don't think it's necessary. Do you know when I bought this house, I cried when I wrote the check? They weren't happy tears."

"This is a nice house. How much did it cost?"

"Three point fucking five million dollars," I said bitterly. I still thought I got fucked on that deal.

"You have money now. I won't make you spend too much. I promise."

"I think you're full of shit, but thanks for trying to make me feel better."

"You're welcome."

"Shit, I'm tired," I groaned.

"I know. I know. It's 4:45pm now. If you go to sleep now, you can get around forty-five minutes."

"Yay!" I screamed, channeling my inner preschooler. I ran to my room, took my pants off, and literally dove into the bed. As soon as I closed my eyelids, I felt myself drift to sleep.

Sooner rather than later, I felt a presence in my room which forced me to wake up. I did my usual, with the usual results.

"Ahhh!" Alice screamed. "What the Hell? I just walked in here to wake you up and you shot out of the bed like you were going to kill me."

I started to laugh. It had been a long time since I'd had this conversation.

"Sorry. I can't sleep with other people in the room. I know it's weird. I grew up with two older brothers who loved to pull pranks. Most of them were played on me when I was asleep. Now, I'm a very light sleeper. If a pen drops, I'll wake up. Sorry if I scared you. You said it yourself. I'm weird."

After shaking her head and laughing profusely, she told me that I needed to start getting ready. I got out of the bed to start my shower.

"Bella! Where are your pajama pants?"

"They're in the drawer. I can't sleep with pants on."

"Well, get in the shower and wash your hair. It's almost five thirty now and I've got to get you ready. You're wearing some of the clothes I got you today."

I took a shower for the second time today and tried my best to compose myself. This was going to be an important show for me. I needed to do promotions for my comedy special on HBO next week, my new movie, _Time_, as well as _Halfsies_. The arena was sold out, but I needed people to watch it from home as well. I was excited, but I was also scared shitless.

I stepped out of the shower and Alice threw me into the chair and began to work on my hair. I told her that I would be cool with just wearing my hair down and going with no makeup and she looked at me like I had slapped her. She told me she'd be "fashionably remiss" if she allowed me to do that.

After about an hour, she had given me natural makeup and had my hair in loose curls. I looked pretty. For my outfit, she had me wearing light grey skinny jeans with a white t-shirt and a dark grey leather jacket. To top it all off, she forced me to wear a pair of death traps she called shoes. They were grey high-heeled boots with studs on the front. They were cute. They were just dangerous. I looked…hot.

Turned out I didn't need that pedicure after all.

"Damn, Alice. You're a good assistant, expert shopper, AND you do hair and makeup. Is there anything you can't do?"

"I couldn't reach the bag of sugar in your cabinet when we were making cupcakes," she said aloof as she inspected my outfit. "You do look good. You're welcome."

"I think we're ready to go. Usually, they want us an hour early."

I got Captain from his room while Alice got in the car and together we made our way to the Jay Leno set.

"Are you bringing Captain with you?" she asked as she ruffled his fur. I knew they'd start to get along.

"Yeah. Normally, they have someone watch the pets. I know. I'm one of _those_ people, but I can't leave him inside alone. He'll trash the whole house looking for food."

We talked for most of the car ride until Alice got a text on the Blackberry.

"Bella, I just got a text from someone named Rosalie. She said she'd meet us at the studio."

Ah, Rosalie Hale. Protector. Friend. Agent. These words and more described this lovely lady. She was with me when I was only a writer in an office at NBC and she had stuck with me ever since. She was the kind of girl that all the girls, and some boys, wanted to be. She was beautiful with a kick-ass body that lowered your self-esteem just by looking at her. She was twice as smart as she was pretty, too. The bitch had a heart of gold…once you got to know her at least.

"Oh, she's my agent. You'll love her. I didn't think she'd be able to make it."

"I'm excited. I've never been backstage at a talk show before. But I'd never been inside NBC Studios or a photo shoot before today, either. I'm just a small-town girl from Biloxi, Mississippi. I didn't really fit in anywhere. This whole thing is kind of surreal for me. Thanks for this opportunity."

"You earned your job, Alice, and you're doing great. You should be proud of yourself. I'm small town, too, if you haven't noticed. This is America. If you're driven and talented enough, you'll succeed."

Like I was expecting, Alice jumped over the console of the car and hugged me. "Thanks for the pep talk. You're a really cool boss. Not many celebrity assistants can say that."

"Well, you're welcome, and thanks for the compliment. Do you know who else is going to be on the show tonight?"

"Tanya Denali is the musical guest…oh, and Edward Cullen is the other guest. I understand you went to high school with him, is that right?"

"Yeah, I did," I sighed.

Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**HELLO AGAIN**

**Ch. 2- Long Time No See**

_Flashback_

_August 13, 1998_

_I missed my hometown. I'd been in Georgia all of my life, until one week ago. I'd known the inevitable move was happening. However, it never really sank in until I watched my old house, and my old life, fade away from the back seat of my parents' car._

_I was a military brat. My father was a marine, but we were lucky enough that my father never had to move, at least, not until he chose to. Upon his retirement, he was offered the job as Chief of Police to the small town of Forks, Washington. In the seven days I'd been here, it had rained every day. That, by itself, was a lot to get used to. That led me to this very moment, sitting in my car and looking at the rainy entryway to Forks High School. I'd have to go to this place every day for the next two years. I was intimidated to say the least. I was the youngest of three kids. I had two older twin brothers to be exact. I was used to being protected by someone. Now that they had stayed behind to finish college, I was alone and forced to continue the Hell they called high school by myself, with no emotional reinforcements. This sucked. I needed some weed. I wondered if they had any good dealers here._

_"I can always count on my sarcasm and wit," I muttered as I made my way out of my car and towards the building. I felt the eyes on me as I entered the school. It seemed as though I had been discussed prior to my arrival. This was the deal with small towns. Everyone knew everything about everybody. They already knew I was from Georgia and my dad, the new Police Chief, had been in the military. How could you attempt to get to know someone when you felt they'd already done a background check on you? _

_I looked to my side and saw the normal groupings of a high school. I wondered what group I'd be in as I made my way to the gym where they gave the students their schedules. I'd probably be a loner. I'd always stuck to myself, even at home. Plus, these kids had gone to preschool together. I doubted they'd make an invitation for any other reason than to get gossip on the shiny new toy._

_As I finally reach the gym, I noticed the students separated by grades. I made my way over to the sign that read "Juniors." Once I found a seat, something horrible happened. It seemed as though I wasn't looking and my foot got caught in a rogue shoulder strap from a book bag. I started to struggle to stay upright. Out of all the days, my clumsiness chose to make itself known on the first day of school, in front of the entire student body. This didn't look good. Students noticed my problem and waited in anticipation for my fall with eerie silence. I didn't know how I would survive here if I face-planted on the first day. I couldn't fall. I would not fall._

_In a last-ditch attempt to save my ass, literally, I jumped into the air and landed on my feet with a loud thud._

_Silence._

_Think, Bella. Think! Yes!_

_I light bulb came on. As my feet landed on the hardwood floors, I spread my arms out shouting, "AND SHE STICKS THE LANDING!" The entire gym erupted into laughter and applause. It was a relief to know they weren't laughing at me. I took a bow and searched out a seat. As I finally sat, very carefully, in my seat, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked around to see the most beautiful specimen I had ever seen. His hair was a crazy copper color with specks of gold that stuck up everywhere. It would have looked crazy on anyone else, but he pulled it off. His glorious hair, however, paled in comparison to his eyes. They were the deepest green you could imagine. I found myself lost in them. To be honest, I didn't hear a word he was saying. I was having too much fun ogling him. The sound of his laughter broke me out of my haze._

_Damn, his smile was sexy._

_"Wow, nice save, very nice save," he said with a low chuckle._

_"Thanks. If I fell, I would've had to start breakdancing," I replied with a slight giggle._

_"You can breakdance?"_

_"Nope," I said popping the "p," "But I would've learned really quickly."_

_His laughter increased and it was the sexiest thing I had ever heard in my life. The bell rang and I got up and made my way out to find my next class. As I sat through my first period, I couldn't get the bronze-haired guy out of my head._

_Who was he?_

"What are you thinking about?" Alice asked.

"Nothing, just…stuff."

"Oh. What was it like going to high school with Edward Cullen?" she asked excitedly.

"I wouldn't know, honestly. We didn't really talk to each other. We ran in different circles. He probably doesn't even remember me."

"Well, that sucks. I was hoping for a little gossip," she said with a small pout.

"I hate to disappoint," I patted her shoulder as we exited the car.

After being escorted into the building, I checked in and made my way to the backstage area. I set the cupcakes on the table and told everyone that they were welcome to one if they'd like. I noticed a snack table filled with everything you could possibly want to eat. I grabbed a sub sandwich, two slices of pizza, some Doritos, and I passed up the sodas for bottled water. Hey, I was _attempting_ to have _something_ healthy.

"Bella, you're eating again?" Alice eyed me disbelievingly.

"What? I'm having water!"

"Where do you put it all?" she shook her head.

"My stomach," I said with a chuckle.

"You're such a smartass, Bella."

"Really? I think you're just jealous that I have a delicious sub and you don't. It's okay. I won't let this affect our friendship. You're still my bestie," I said with a shit-eating grin on my face.

"Hey!" a familiar voice I hadn't heard in nearly a week snapped behind me. "I thought I was your bestie."

There Rose stood at the doorway in all her bitchy glory. She had on a fitted black suit with a red blouse underneath and expensive red heels that would have probably killed me just looking at them. Her hair was pulled into a high and tight ponytail. And no Rosalie Hale outfit would have been complete without a big-ass purse. She called it her power bitch uniform.

"Well, Rose, when you don't pick up a phone to even say hello, you get replaced."

"Oh, shut it, bitch. I've been working my ass off for you so don't give me any shit," she winked, walking toward me and giving me a hug. "Who is this?" she asked, pointing to Alice.

"Hi! I'm Alice," my little sprite of an assistant offered, holding out her hand to shake Rosalie's. "I love your outfit. Gucci makes excellent suits for women. They say, 'I'm a lady, but I'll kick your ass if I have to.' Are your shoes Louboutins?"

"Yes. Yes, they are," Rose said with a sly grin on her face. "I love your outfit, too. Jacket?"

"Prada."

"Shirt?"

"Dolce, of course," Alice replied with a slight chuckle.

This interview of sorts was how Rosalie decided whether or not she liked people. I still didn't know how I passed that test. If it had been over fashion like this one, she would have hated my guts.

"I like you," Rose said to Alice. "I've just decided it." She turned to me, "Keep this one. Anyone who knows her fashion is good in my book. She might even be able to improve your sense of style. God knows I've tried."

"I'm working on it. I even picked out her outfit for the show," Alice beamed.

I stood up from the couch and did a Sunday morning twirl. Rosalie gave me the onceover and turned her eye to Alice.

"I don't like you," she said. Alice's face fell and she started to pout. "I _love_ you," Rose said as she hugged Alice. "I've tried to get her to wear heels for years outside of work. How'd you do it? Her clothes even match! You've given me hope."

"Hey!" I shouted. "No disrespecting my fashion sense."

"Or lack thereof," they said in unison. They both burst into laughter.

"I'm starting to think introducing you two was a huge mistake."

"Shut up. You love us," Alice smirked.

"That I do. What's been going on, Rose?"

"A lot. Everything is set in stone for the last episodes of the show. This is your last promo stint for _Time_ since it opens on Friday and I'm finishing up the last touches on your special."

"How's that going?" I was being very particular about my show. It was my first big one. It was my baby.

"Good. You have nothing to worry about. If there was, I'd make you let me worry about it instead, anyway."

"Okay. I'm just nervous about it."

"I've heard some of the material. It's hilarious. You'll be fine. Besides, if anything goes wrong, you can count on me to shove my stiletto up someone's ass."

"Ouch," said the melodic voice I still remembered. "That wouldn't be pleasant."

I stopped stuffing my face and looked up from my plate, glancing at his face. Fuck, he was hot! He looked even better than he did in high school. Hell, he looked even better in person than he did on magazine covers.

How could someone look better than a photo that had been airbrushed to perfection?

His hair was cut a little shorter than I remembered, but he still looked the same, except he was a man now. He was still beautiful. Most people would describe an attractive man as handsome. But somehow, that word didn't cut it. Edward Cullen was a work of art.

_Quick, look away before he notices you staring at him!_

I didn't look away fast enough.

"Bella?" he said with a tone of uncertainty.

I acted like I didn't hear him and stuffed my mouth with a portion of my sandwich.

_Good idea! You can't talk with food in your mouth._

"Bella?" he said louder. I finally looked at him and shrieked an odd sound and flashed a look of recognition, followed by a muffled hello, trying to feign surprise at seeing him again.

And then I kept eating. And eating. And eating. And eating.

Fuck, my stomach was starting to hurt.

This was a bad plan.

He looked around awkwardly, sat down on the couch, grabbed the remote, and started to watch TV.

Well, that went well.

"Bella, may I speak with you and Alice outside, please?" Rose called. I nodded my head as Alice and I walk towards the door. "Leave your plate," she said with authority. Shit

I was in trouble

Once we left the room, we walked down the hallway and into a bathroom. Once Rose checked the stalls for eavesdroppers, she locked the door and stood in front of me with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping away.

"What the Hell, Bella?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Please," Alice said. "You don't chew your food when you eat. You inhale that shit. What's going on?"

"I'm nervous."

"About the show?" Rose asked. "You've done Leno before."

"No, I don't want to talk to Edward Cullen."

"Why? You didn't even talk to each other in school. Why are you nervous?"

"He makes me nervous, okay!" I said as I threw my hands in the air. "I see him and I feel like I'm sixteen years old again. I feel like such a…a girl!" I shuddered as I hung my head in shame.

"Aw," they said in unison again. "That's so cute. You like him."

"Cute? What's cute about a twelve-year-long crush? It's not cute. It's pathetic. In school, whenever he came around, I'd get all tongue-tied and make an ass out of myself. It was horrible. He didn't even know I existed."

"Bella," Rose said fiercely, looking into my eyes, "He may not have known you then, but he knows you now. Are you telling me that you've been avoiding Edward Cullen for the past _twelve_ years?"

"Pretty much."

"This is fucking ridiculous."

"Bella, that shit is in the past. Get over it."

"But—"

"What's your name?" Alice asked.

"Bella Swan."

"Who starred in one of the funniest, most critically-acclaimed TV sitcoms of all time?"

"Me?"

"That's right," Rosalie added. "Who's had two number-one movies back to back?"

"Me."

"There we go," Rose nodded.

"Who's the shit?" Alice grinned.

"I am?"

"Exactly!" Rose said, taking over Alice's rant.

"Listen, this is a very big show. You have a lot riding on this and as your agent and your best friend, I won't let some crush you had twelve years ago ruin that. You're a great comedienne and actress. So what if he didn't notice you. His loss because guess what? You're awesome. And if you let this defeat you, you aren't the kick-ass girl I thought you were. So, you're gonna go in there and be yourself because you're Bella fucking Swan. You got me?"

"Okay," I said as I unlocked the door and walked down the hall back to the room. I noticed that quite a few people had gathered since I'd left. First, I noticed Tanya Denali whispering into Edward's ear. She was practically sitting in his lap she was so close.

I hoped he'd had all of his shots.

"Bella fucking Swan!" I heard as someone grabbed me from behind in a bear hug and twirled me around. I was afraid I was going to throw up after my eating fiasco. After I was put back on the ground, I turned around to see the biggest, not fat, just big, man I'd ever seen in my life. He had dimples deep enough to stick your finger in, dark curly hair, and bright blue eyes. He was very handsome.

"Uh…hi?" I said giggling in response to the surprise attack. I couldn't find it in me to be angry with this guy. He seemed like a big sweet teddy bear.

"I'm such a huge fan. Your movies are hilarious. You've got balls, I tell ya."

"Thanks. I try."

"Oh, my God, I feel like such a groupie right now," he stage whispered as he shook his head in disbelief. "Can I have your autograph, and perhaps…a picture?" he asked, like he was afraid he was pressing his boundaries.

"Sure," I replied as he took a picture of us on his camera phone. I got a marker and a piece of paper for the autograph. "What's your name?"

"Emmett McCarty."

I signed the autograph quickly before Rose got a chance to recognize his name. I hoped she'd forgotten. She probably hadn't. That chick had the memory of an elephant.

"Did you say Emmett McCarty?" Rose asked in a voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Oh, shit…

Emmett looked for the voice and smiled, clearly checking Rosalie out.

"Yes, I am. Have we met?" he said while slowly walking over towards her.

This was not going to end well…

"No," she said, playing the shy role all too well. She was anything but shy. "But I've heard of you. McCarty-Whitlock Agency, right?"

"Yes. Are you looking for an agent? I'd be happy to set you up with an interview. You're very beautiful." Emmett looked completely taken with Rose. I felt sorry for what was about to happen.

"No, because I have my own agency!" she screamed before punching him in the stomach. "Rosalie Hale. Do you remember me now? You totally poached me for a certain child star!"

There we had it. Three years ago, a certain child star was auditioning for a show for a popular TV network. Rosalie was a shoe-in to sign her and knew she was going to be big. However, before she got the job on the popular television show, Emmett showed up at the last minute and snagged her first. The show was a hit and the girl became a household name. Rose was still bitter. She'd been looking to settle the score ever since. Emmett's eyes bulged out of his head and he shook his head profusely.

"It wasn't me. That was Whitlock!"

"Oh, please!" Rosalie snarled. "Give me a break. Whitlock is a publicist. Do you think I'm stupid? Besides, he doesn't have the balls to poach a client. He drives a Prius for fucks sake!" she spat as she hit him over the head. "I should kick your ass!" she smacked his head again.

I left Rosalie to her assaulting of Emmett and went to look for a seat. I noticed Alice laughing to herself as she saw the realization hit me that there was only one seat available. I flicked her off behind my back, which only caused her to laugh out loud.

Bitch.

As I walked towards the couch, it seemed that history felt the need to repeat itself. My feet tripped over thin air and I landed face first into the couch cushions.

If there was a God, he was laughing his ass off at the irony.

I quickly turned over and noticed the tense silence engulfing the room. "Go ahead and laugh, you know you want to," I said shaking my head.

Everyone in the room stayed silent, except for Tanya.

"Damn, that was funny! It was just like that YouTube video, but like, in real life. God, how can you stand up straight?" she howled in her nasally voice. "Wasn't it funny, Eddie?" she said as she leaned towards him.

"It's Edward, and no, it's not funny. Are you okay, Bella? You fell pretty hard," he asked concerned as he touched my ankle. "Is it sore?"

"Nope, I'm pretty sure my bones are immune to breaks and sprains by now. I fall a lot."

"Understatement," Tanya muttered as she looked me up and down, sizing me up.

"I guess you never practiced your breakdancing, huh?" Edward snickered.

"Huh?"

"Your first day—"

"I know. You don't forget almost busting your ass in front of the entire student body. I just can't believe you remembered that."

"Well…"

"Ms. Swan," a woman said as she rushed through the doors, "You're on in five. Can you come this way?"

"Okay, and call me Bella," I said as I got up and followed the lady known as Susan to the side of the stage. I heard Jay warming up the crowd about current events before they cut to commercials. I watched the small TV on the table and saw him sit at his desk. I mentally prepared myself as the commercial break came to a close. The camera came back on a Jay did a quick intro for me before giving the cue for me to come out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Bella Swan!"

The crown erupted into cheers and I walked, carefully, to the couch beside Jay, giving him a hug before sitting.

"How ya doin'?" he asked.

"Fine, you?"

"Great. Now before we get into everything, I have to ask you something important. I gotta know. Did you bring cupcakes?" This caused the crowd to laugh.

"Of course I brought them. I wasn't going to let you down."

"You don't understand. Every time this lady comes around, she brings cupcakes. Any they're delicious."

"Well, every guy loves a girl's goodies," I said as the crowd started to laugh and "ooh." "What?" I said, feigning ignorance. "Did I say something wrong?" I giggled a little bit.

"My cupcakes bring all the boys to the yard," Jay started to sing to _Milkshake_ by Kelis.

"What cupcakes?" I said as I dramatically pushed my chest out which caused the crowd to erupt into more laughter. I embraced the hysteria and speculation about my boobs. Worse things could happen.

"It's always fun having you around," Jay said, getting to the topic at hand. "Well, _Halfsies_ is going on its last two episodes. How does it feel?"

"To be honest, it's really bittersweet. I feel like I have a family with these people and it's going to be over in a matter of weeks. But, on the other hand, it's like starting a new chapter of my life."

"Any details you can give us?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you specifics."

"Aw!" the crowd groaned in unison.

"But, I can tell you that we have a celebrity guest coming. I can't tell you who, though. It's all really hush-hush. Also, I just found out this morning that we're actually shooting the finale live."

The crowd began to cheer.

"I'm excited, too," I said towards the crowd. "Anything can happen when you film live, so it's an extra rush. It's a great way to go out."

"Great," Jay said. "You have a lot coming up. You have a movie coming out on Friday. Could you tell us a little more about _Time_?"

"It's a movie about this young woman who's changed into a vampire by another lonely vampire who wants a mate and their cat-and-mouse game that lasts through centuries. It's different from your average musical."

"Apart from it being a different form of musical, it's very different from other comedic work you've done."

"Yeah, it really is. When I was approached about doing a musical, I thought it was a joke. Then they sat me down, told me about the premise, and who all was going to be involved. I couldn't say no after that."

"It required you to take singing and dance lessons. How was that?"

"The dancing was…hard to say the least," I said as the crowd snickered in agreement. "I'm not the most graceful person on the planet. The singing lessons weren't so bad."

"I'll say. Is that you singing on the trailer?"

"Yeah." The audience clapped and cheered.

"You sound beautiful."

"Thank God for auto tune. That's all I gotta say."

Jay played a clip of a scene from the movie that showed my character, Daniella, in a heated argument with her creator/tormentor/lover, Damon. The audience received it well.

"Now, you have a comedy special coming up. It's highly anticipated. Tell us about it."

"Well, I'm very excited. It's my first big special. So, I wanted to do it right. I talk about pretty much everything; current events, my upbringing, fame, and other normal stuff. It's basically about people getting to know me better as a person…raw and uncensored."

"What's the title?"

"I couldn't really think of a clever title—"

"Well, what's the name?"

"That _is_ the name. I really couldn't think of one to save my life." The audience laughed and Jay joined them.

"Well, it's always a pleasure to have you. Thank you for stopping by."

"I love being here. Thanks for having me," I shook his hand and smiled.

"This is Bella Swan. Her upcoming movie, _Time_, is in theaters this Friday and her special is next Sunday. Make sure to watch _Halfsies_, Thursdays at 9:00pm."

"Wow," I said, "That's the longest plug ever."

"I thought it was just me," he added, playing along. "After the break, we have Edward Cullen!"

The crowd started to cheer as the show cut to commercials.

I hugged Jay and reminded him that his cupcakes would be waiting for him after the show and walked backstage. This was what I loved about live television and being an actor. I got the opportunity to make people laugh. It made me forget about what was going on. It almost made me forget about what had happened previously in the green room…where I had to face Edward. Again.

Fuck!

I was such a girl.


	3. Chapter 3

**HELLO AGAIN**

**Thanks to those who put my story on alert. It motivates me. I noticed many people have added Hello Again to their favorites. Thanks! Don't be afraid to review. Dollybigmomma is my literary janitor.**

**Chapter 3 - Keep Your Hands to Yourself**

**BPOV**

"Okay, that wasn't so bad," I muttered under my breath as I walked down the hallway while trying to mentally prepare for the inevitable humiliation I was about to inflict upon myself. I was pretty sure Rosalie and Alice felt that I had been exaggerating when I'd told them about my "Cullen Fear" problem, and yes, it was bad enough to capitalize and use quotation marks. Little did they know…

Ever since I had known of Edward Cullen, I had never failed to make an ass out of myself in his presence. Apart from the almost killing myself in the gym on the first day incident, I could recall gazing in his direction for too long and walking into a pole. I bruised my eye that time. That wasn't even the worst incident. One time, he asked if I had a pen he could borrow in Biology class. As I walked to give one to him, I tripped and fell face first into his crotch and my hair became caught in his zipper. It was horrible. To this day, I still suspected I had been tripped. He seemed like a nice enough guy, though. However, out of a sense of self-preservation, and for the sake of my tentative self-esteem, I vowed to avoid him because of my constant awkward moments and subsequent humiliation every time we came face to face.

Now, after a good ten years of a somewhat-flawless plan, the first time I looked in his direction, I fell flat on my face. It was as if I had been cursed. Something bad was going to happen. I could feel it. I couldn't help but wonder if I should have left.

No, that would have been rude.

My arrival at the edge of the door to my impending doom jarred me out of my walk down memory lane. I braced myself and walked in, quickly finding myself engulfed by a small pair of arms. Alice.

Thank God. I needed a hug right now.

"You did so well and you were funny. Everything is going to be fine, I just know it."

"Thanks," I said looking for Rosalie. "Where's Rose?"

I hoped she hadn't been arrested again.

"She went to the bathroom, I think. Anyway, after this is over, you can go home."

"Yes! I'm so fucking tired."

"So what else is new?"

Our banter was cut off by an annoyed Rosalie being followed by a determined Emmett.

"Please?" Emmett begged.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"_Please_?" he whined pitifully.

"Stop asking!" Rosalie shouted as she sat down and took a sip of her water.

I was not sure what they were talking about or if I even wanted to know, so…I just sat down. I sat down, next to him, and folded my hands in my lap in an attempt to continue my ten-year vow of silence.

"They've been doing that since you left. He keeps asking her out and she keeps saying no," Edward whispered into my ear.

And just like that, my vow of silence was broken.

"Ah," I said in response. "Well, I wish him luck with that. Rose is a trooper. She makes Ari Gold look like a Sunday school teacher."

He laughed loudly in response.

"I didn't think it was that funny," Tanya spat loudly as she snuggled into Edward's shoulder.

_Okay_…

"Well, I thought it was," he replied while nonchalantly scooting out of her reach.

"Ms. Denali," Susan said to get her attention, "You're needed for warm-ups."

"Okay," she sighed getting up and accidently brushing her boobs against Edward.

"I'll be back, Eddie."

"It's Edward," he muttered annoyed. His shoulders visibly released tension as he saw her leave. "Man, I thought she'd never leave me alone."

"I know," I agreed. "For a second there, I thought I was going to be a witness to a sexual assault," I laughed as I took off my boots.

Damn, my feet hurt.

"You wouldn't have helped me?" he asked, feigning hurt.

"Nope. I'm pretty sure that big guy would've helped you, though," I pointed to Emmett who was still begging Rose for a date.

"Some friend you are!" he chuckled, revealing his crooked grin. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Damn, I'd forgotten how…green they were.

Flood warning!

"Well…" I shrugged as I started to rub my feet.

"What have you been up to?" he asked as he turned his body towards me.

"Besides filming the show, promoting, promoting, and…more promoting. How about you?"

"Same," he said nodding his head. "It's good to talk to a fellow Forkian." This shocked me.

He did not just call me a…_Forkian_.

"Whoa! Wait a minute. Did you just call me a Forkian?" I smirked with genuine amusement.

"Yes, I did. Do we have a problem?" he asked, matching my tone.

"No, no...not at all," I said with a calm tone. "You can claim Forks all you like, but Georgia blood runs through these veins. Go Dawgs!" I pumped my fist in the air at the last sentence.

"Yeah…yeah…yeah," he replied waving his hand in the air at my comment. "The Bulldogs are such an overrated team. I'm more of a Tennessee fan myself."

"Really?" I challenged. "Well, I'd like to see you go to Athens and say that. Red, black, and white, baby!"

"Go Gators!" Emmett shouted before Rose smacked him on the head, again, and told him not to interrupt our conversation.

"I won't even dignify that comment with a response," I shook my head laughing. "So, what's been going on in Forks?" I asked as I stretched my arms and yawned.

Damn, I was tired.

"Well, you know the crime rate has skyrocketed since your parents moved. There've been two cases of jaywalking. Someone even shoplifted," he said with mock horror. "What's going on with them?"

"Once I graduated, I moved back to Georgia to go to UGA. My mom missed the heat and convinced my dad to move back. He works for the FBI now."

"Really? That's cool. Doing what?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," I whispered as I pretend as if I was looking around for eavesdroppers. "How are Dr. and Mrs. Cullen?"

I had spent a lot of time at Forks General Hospital. I knew most of the nurses by their first name. I still sent them Christmas cards.

"They're good," he nodded. "Although, I do imagine dad's business is slow now that you don't live there anymore."

"Ha-ha. Very funny," I said in a deadpan tone. "Don't make fun of my clumsiness. I'm pretty sure my trips to the E-R paid for that damn Volvo you had in high school."

"How'd you remember I had a Volvo?"

"How'd you remember my breakdancing comment?" I replied with a raised eyebrow. He chuckled and shrugged.

Did I hear bells?

We sat together in comfortable silence. I closed my eyes and tried to rest for a minute while I listened to the sounds of other people's conversations.

I was woken up a while later from my mini nap by the sound of a loud gasp. I looked around at Alice, who had her hand on her mouth. I looked to my right and saw Rosalie fighting a grin. Emmett's mouth was open so wide he could catch flies. I didn't know what the big deal was. That was until I looked at Edward. I wouldn't have been mortified at the sight had my hand not been threaded through his hair. Oh, my God, I was petting Edward Cullen's head!

Was he growling? Fuck, he was mad!

I noticed that my hand, without my consent, had begun stroking Edward's luxurious locks. I knew what was happening, but my hand wouldn't stop. What did it do instead? It tugged Edward's hair. To make matters worse, this sudden movement alerted him to the situation.

Why me, Lord? I had been doing so well!

"I'm so sorry. I was…then I…so…I gotta go," I rushed as I gathered my things. "Good luck with the whole Tanya thing. Remember, no means no!" I shouted as I made my hasty exit barefoot.

As I was speed walking down the hallway to get to my car as fast as possible, I heard the clicking of heels running in my direction.

"Bella!" my pursuers shouted. "Slow down! I can't run after you. I have short legs!" I heard Alice call out to me. The seriousness in her voice caused a momentary reprieve from my nervous breakdown and I started to laugh. I slowed to a regular walk and they caught up with me. The look of amusement on their faces didn't escape me.

"Bella," Rosalie whispered with a slight giggle, "What was that?"

"That was me making good on the unspoken promise to humiliate myself in front of Edward Cullen. I told you this would happen!"

Silence.

"Fine, go ahead and laugh, you traitors!"

The silence was broken by the sounds of uncontrollable laughter.

"O-Oh, my God!" Alice gasped, trying to catch her breath. "Did you actually…pet him?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"You weren't kidding when you said you were a spaz!" Rose said, still giggling.

"Shut up!" was my brilliant comeback. "I'm leaving."

"Come on," they said, following me.

"No, I want to go home. Please, don't make me go back."

"Wow," Rosalie shook her head in disbelief, "You make porno jokes in front of the entire country every week without shame, and yet you flee from a hair grab. Damn. I didn't know it was that bad."

"Well, now you know. And I know that I'm not going back in there and you can't make me," I stomped my foot to accentuate my point.

"Fine, you're such a baby. At least put your shoes back on."

I thought this floor was cold.

After I put my shoes back on, I picked up Captain and headed on to the car. Alice got into the passenger seat, clearly amused about something.

"What's so funny…besides my humiliation?" I asked as I started the car and began the drive home.

"Nothing…I just didn't know Bella Swan had game."

"Game? What game?" I asked confused.

"Oh, please. You don't think anybody saw that flirt-fest going on between you two?"

"'Georgia blood runs through my veins!'" Alice mocked as she shook her head in amusement at her impersonation of my voice.

"Whatever. I wasn't flirting."

"It doesn't matter if you weren't flirting. He definitely was. You should've seen him while you were doing your interview. He was staring at the screen and smiling that sexy, cooked grin…gazing into your eyes through the screen. It pissed Tanya off royally," she teased.

"I think you read too much into it. There's no way he's into me. I mean, he's Edward Cullen. I'm just…me, the klutz extraordinaire. Besides, did you see how Tanya Denali was hanging all over him? She's more his type. You know, obviously beautiful…and coordinated."

"Do you hear yourself? Bella, you're gorgeous with those exotic looks of yours. You have awesome hair that constantly looks like you just finished a Pantene commercial, and I'd kill to have your rack! You're hot shit, woman!" she screamed at me.

"WOOF!" Captain barked at Alice.

"See, even your dog agrees with me."

"What did I say about kissing my ass?" I said lightheartedly.

"What did I say about it not being ass-kissing if it's true?"

This conversation lasted for the last ten minutes of the car ride home. My mood lightened significantly at the sight of my house.

Sleepy time!

As I pulled in, I noticed a yellow Porsche in my driveway. "Whose car is that?" I asked, looking around.

"Mine," Alice said with a tone of pride. "It was a graduation present from my parents."

"How much am I paying you?"

"Not enough to put up with your eccentricity, but I love you, anyway," she said as she got into her car and started the engine. "It's been an eventful day. Go and get some sleep. I saw your eyes light up and I know what that means."

"Yes, Ma'am," I waved as she drove off. I darted upstairs to my bedroom and went straight to bed. Today really had been a stressful day.

I was woken up the next morning by Alice's presence. She looked pissed. "Who's there?" I shouted as I sprang out of bed.

"Bella! It's after ten o'clock. Your alarm has been going off for the past thirty minutes!"

"Really? I didn't hear it."

"I guessed that much. Get showered and dressed."

After my shower and another round of torture-the-boss-with-a-makeup-brush, I was ushered downstairs to see an unusually chipper Rosalie waiting for me.

"Hi, Bella!" she smiled. "Good morning!"

"What is this madness I see?" I asked in astonishment. "Rose is in a good mood before noon? No angry swear words for making her wait?"

"Cut your sarcasm. I'm just in a good mood."

"I'll bet," I said in an accusing tone.

"Did someone have a helping of sausage last night?" Alice asked, fighting a smile.

"Perhaps, by a vendor named…Emmett?" I added as Alice burst into laughter. Rose started to blush.

"Busted!" I shouted. "I knew it. You have that 'I just got laid' glow about you."

"How'd that happen?" Alice asked. "Don't you hate him?"

"That's the problem," Rose sighed as she shook her head. "He asked me out. Again. And I told him no. Again. Then he told me to stop acting like a spiteful bitch and get over it. I kicked his shins, punched him in the eye, and then told him to kiss my ass. Next thing I knew, we were in a sixty-nine in his apartment. I don't know what happened," she groaned as she buried her face in her hands, shaking her head profusely.

"Thanks to that story, I don't, either," I said with a raised brow.

"Moving on," she shrugged as she took her iPhone out of her purse. "There's another reason why I'm so happy this morning. The reviews for _Time_ came out today."

"What did they think?" I asked nervously as Rosalie scrolled through her space-aged phone. I couldn't work an iPhone to save my life. She began to read the review.

_**"**_**Time**_**, with its unique vision and choice of rock music, has been one of the most-anticipated movies of its genre in recent memory. When the cast was announced, many followers of the hit Broadway musical had their doubts about the casting of sitcom star Bella Swan as the female lead, Daniella. After viewing the finished product, I would say that Swan has definitely proved her doubters wrong in her performance, both dramatically and musically. The comedienne does an excellent job with her performance as the tortured soul and her voice is professional quality. She might be a shoe-in for nominations this coming January. I give 4 ½ stars for **_**Time**_** and 4 stars for Bella Swan."**_

"Bella, I'm so proud of you!" Alice screamed as she took a spoonful of cereal.

When did I get Cocoa Pebbles?

"Wow." I didn't know what else to say.

"That, my dear, was The New York Times," Rose said smiling. "Aren't you glad I made you do it now?"

"Yeah."

"Say it."

"Rosalie Hale is the best agent ever. I admit that she knows her shit and I'll never question her judgment again."

"Thank you."

I spent the rest of the week on my high from the great reviews the movie and my performance had gotten. I would admit, I had been nervous and Rosalie had threatened me with violence to take the role. I was glad she had, though. However, the reviews weren't enough to shoot _Time_ to the top. Edward's action/thriller movie, _Dead before Dawn_, beat my project.

Now, I was in New York preparing for my comedy special for HBO. Ever since I had found out it would take place in this wonderful city, I knew it had to be at the Radio City Music Hall, and Rosalie, being the kickass agent she was, made it happen.

As I glanced around the empty stage, I looked out at the mass of empty seats that would soon be occupied. It made me feel good to know that not only was the venue sold out, but also they were coming to see me. Once I realized this, I started to pray that I didn't disappoint. Those who had heard my material said it was hilarious, but you never really knew who was being straight with you in this business.

Would the nerves ever cease?

"BELLA!" Rose screamed at me, breaking me out of my reverie. "Come on and get dressed. The show starts in about an hour. They're gonna start seating the audience soon."

I walked backstage to find Alice with a garment bag and a makeup kit. Not long after I began getting ready, I started to hear the sounds of the audience conversing. I tried to push my nerves back and concentrate. Alice had me wearing a black military-style jacket with a stark white tunic underneath. She finished the outfit with black skinny jeans and knee-high black riding boots. I fought Alice for the "privilege" of wearing flats instead of heels. I couldn't afford to bust my ass on live national television, at least not accidently.

It was two minutes until show time when the lights dimmed, causing the audience to cheer. This time, I felt a sense of excitement. Then I heard the music.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for BELLA SWAN!" the announcer said to the audience as I ran out on stage.

"Bella! Bella! Bella! Bella!" the crowd chanted.

"Shut up, you brown nosers!" I said nonchalantly. The audience snickered. "New York! How ya doin' tonight?" The audience cheered.

"I'm so excited to be here. You know why? Everybody loves to be in New York City. It's the city of lights, the city that never sleeps." The crowd cheered. "You have Madison Square Garden, Time Square…the YANKEES!" The crowd erupted into loud cheers.

"Then…you get mugged and none of that shit matters." The crowd stopped cheering and burst into laughter.

The first laugh was always the hardest.

"I love how every New Yorker remembers the first time they got mugged, like it's the first time they had sex. Do you remember your first time?" The crowd erupted into applause and cheers. "Yeah, I do, too. You guys wanna hear about it?"

Shouts of "Tell it, girl," went up amongst the applause.

"I was eighteen. I'd just graduated high school and my parents let me visit the city with one of my brother's girlfriends." The crowd chuckled at the mention of one of my brother's girlfriends. "Yeah, she was cool. Anyway, we were walking down the street and this guy comes out of nowhere and is like, 'BITCH, GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!' and I was like, 'NO!'" The audience "oohs" at the information that I'd denied a mugger my money.

"Don't look at me like that," I said wagging my finger. "You wanna know why I said no? He didn't have a fucking weapon!" The audience howled. "How can you mug someone without a weapon? I was insulted!" I said feigning annoyance. "So, anyway, he tries to grab my necklace and I grab his hand and twist it backwards." The audience cheered. "You guys gotta understand. I have two older brothers and my dad was a Marine. He taught me self-defense, so it was a reflex. Plus, I liked that damned necklace. It was a present. Anyway, I pissed the guy off and he PICKS ME UP AND THROWS ME ACROSS THE ALLEY!" The crowd laughed. "I even hit a garbage can on the way down." The laughter of the crowd grew.

"Then, girlfriend number three comes rushing to the rescue AFTER the fucker takes my necklace and runs off," I said as I ran to the other side of the stage and kneeled down, pretending I was looking at something. "She says, 'Oh, my God, Bella…you're so skinny! Did you see how far he threw you?" I threw up my hands and gave an exaggerated "What the fuck?" look to the audience who laughed loudly. "I wish I'd made that shit up. She didn't care that I'd been mugged. She was more fascinated by how fat my ass wasn't and at how far that bastard could throw me! Like I was some kind of fucking aerodynamic anorexic. And for those of you who haven't been mugged yet, don't feel left out. It'll happen eventually, it's all part of the New York experience after all and New Yorkers are nothing if not proud of their traditions. You won't leave here until like eleven o'clock or midnight. It'll probably happen for you tonight. Keep the faith." Loud laughter and clapping ensued.

"I was actually visiting NYU that trip. After that incident, though, I decided I'd take my chances with the rednecks and headed back to my home state of Georgia and went to UGA."

"Go Dawgs!" I heard an audience member yell.

"Hell yeah!" I said in response. "I chose to go to UGA because I wanted to be closer to my family. I love my family…"

The audience responded with a drawn-out, "Aw."

"They're just crazy as hell." I heard more laughter. "You know the moment when you realize _something_ isn't quite right with your family? Yeah, I realized that pretty much out of the womb, maybe even at the moment of conception. I have ghostly images imbedded in my cerebral cortex of my mother's egg wearing Daisy Duke's and my dad's sperm having a mullet, and when they met, there were shouts of 'Yee-haw' and plans of a double wide in their future. When you hear my stories, you'll know that I had no choice but to become a comedienne because this shit is just too funny to be made up.

"Let's start with my parents. My dad was a Marine, so he was really good at military stuff…but awkward at everything else. Eventually, he gave up on trying to do semi-girly stuff with me and started teaching me military strategy techniques and things he knew would come in handy living in the south." The audience laughed. I did a perfect impersonation of my father's gentle voice and said, "Bella, today I'm gonna tell you a story about the art of war." More laughter. "You know how most daughters have pictures with their fathers helping them ride a bike? On the mantle at my parents' house, it's pictures of my dad teaching me how to clean a gun." Laughter.

"He used to show that picture to any boy that came over to the house and say, 'Yeah, I wouldn't piss her off if I was you.' Then he'd shake his head and look sadly at the boy. Needless to say, I was usually dropped back at home by nine o'clock with no goodnight kisses and the guy shooting out of the driveway like their ass was on fire. Yeah, I had a lot of two-in-one dates, first and last," I sighed and the audience howled in laughter.

I was doing well. They liked it.

"My dad's been in some type of law enforcement all his life. He's a man of the law. He actually met my mother that way…he arrested her for disturbing the peace. Yeah, she was dancing around her front yard washing her car in her bikini while blasting Def Leppard. My mom was a looker in her day so I'd bet his piece was disturbed." The audience laughed. "My parents are just different from each other. My mom is this flowerchild artistic teacher, but her and my dad just…fit. It's weird because they're so different. Actually, my mom invented the phrase, 'FUCK DA POLICE' in like 1990." This sent them into hysterics. "Although, I do think she meant it in a different way. I mean, it's not every day you walk in on your dad pile driving your mom to 2 Live Crew's song, _Hoochie Momma_. That has been by far the worst experience of my life."

The sound guys blasted the song, and when the audience heard it, they went crazy with laughter.

"You wanna know what my dad got me for my 21st birthday? A new gun and a case of Bud. Then my mom challenged me to a game of beer pong. God, I love my family." The crowd was shouting their approval and laughing loudly.

"Then I look at my grandparents. You always understand your parents a little more by looking at their parents. I gotta mention my Granny Anne. She's my father's mother and she's from Jamaica. My dad is half Jamaican. Whenever she came over, my brothers and I would just…observe. And it was hilarious. She made even the slightest comment funny. I remember when I watched Family Matters with her," I said as I switched to my grandmother's accent. "What in de gwan, Beya! Who da fahuck is dis Urkel person and why in de hell are his pants so high? You can see his balls! Sheet, I be embarrassed for him!" The audience howled in laughter.

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome. But I warn you, never admit to being bored while you're at her house." The audience chuckled and listened. "I remember when my brothers and I made that mistake. We were visiting her for a week over the summer and we kept saying that we were bored. It didn't end well." I switched back to my grandma's voice. "Oh, ya bored, eh?" I said as I walked back across the stage. I grabbed the stool, walking back over and placed it down with a thwack. "Here's some paint. Paint dat wall ober der!" The audience burst into laughter. "Oh, ya not bored no more? Too late! Ya be paintin' now. Maybe de boredom bug not come back 'cause de paint smell kill dem all." The volume of laughter increased. "I don't know where she got her paint from, but I'd swear by the time we were done, we were too high to be bothered with boredom. And she was right; those damn fumes killed anything that crawled…and she got free labor. Three problems solved. She was freakin' brilliant, but sometimes I have to wonder about the long-term effects of that paint," I said jerking a bit for show. The audience roared.

"My brothers and I are thick as fucking thieves. We went through a lot of shit together, man. Fuck, we were raised in the same house so you know we're all just as twisted." The audience laughed. "I have two brothers, Daniel and David. They're twins. Like identical. You can't tell them apart…except David is gay. I have no problem with his choice. Actually, I'm a little jealous. He has excellent taste in men. I mean he gets, doctors, lawyers, and architects…where does he find them, and why won't he tell me? Hell, I wouldn't even mind dating a guy that was bi. I wouldn't even care if he liked to play hide the sausage occasionally, as long as he shared his straightening iron and didn't use up all the conditioner." The audience laughed. "I love my brother, but he's perhaps one of the most conceited and vain people on this planet. I remember one time, I was riding with him and he got into a car accident." The audience responded with awws and oh nos. "Don't feel sorry for him yet," I replied to a couple of laughs. "He rushes over to the lady he's hit and guess what he says?" I got a look of happiness on my face and said, "Don't worry, Ma'am, I'm okay." The audience laughed. "The woman is bleeding from a gash on her forehead and my brother pulls out a handkerchief and instead of helping her, he begins to wipe off his expensive Italian leather loafers before using it to dust the glass shards off of his hood. My brother the humanitarian, ladies and gentlemen.

"Daniel is my other brother. He's the whore of the family with multiple girlfriends. There were so many, I just gave them numbers instead of trying to remember names," I said as the audience laughed. "You know what his friends called my house? The slut hut! The worst part is when his girlfriends thought they were gonna marry him and so they acted like they were my friend. They'd be like, 'See you next Friday' and I'd mumble, 'That's what you think,'" I said as the audience responded with laughter. "Yeah, but he did have some hot friends growing up," I sighed as the females in the audience howled in approval.

"There was this one guy…I forget his name because it wasn't important at the time," I said nonchalantly. "He was so fuckin' hot, ladies. I was fifteen and he was nineteen. I had it so bad. I totally would've risked his freedom for some of that," I added as the audience laughed. "I was young, but I knew what I wanted. I made a vow to myself. Once I turned sixteen, if I still knew him, I'd make a play for him and see what happened. So anyway, I turned sixteen, but they were off in college so I waited for the summer. Guess what happened?" I waited for a few seconds. "We fucking moved!" The females grunted in shared disappointment. "I'd spent all that time scheming, massaging my boobs so they'd get bigger, and perfecting my poon-shaving technique, and we fuckin' moved! And my Dad, he had this shit-eating grin on his face, like he knew what I was planning. Maybe fathers have this built-in jailbait radar, where they can tell when their daughter's virtue is at risk. He totally cock-blocked me!" I said shaking my head. "At least I learned how to landscape the lady garden properly, and as you can see, the boob massages didn't go to waste," I wiggled the girls and the audience clapped and the guys hooted loudly.

"We moved to this small town in Washington called Forks where it rains all the time. I went to Forks high school with someone named…Edward Cullen? I think that's his name," I said nonchalantly as the crowd erupted into cheers. "Every time someone finds out we went to school together, they always ask, 'What was it like going to school with Edward Cullen?' I always answer, 'Boring, it was still school.'" The audience laughed. "Besides, we never hung out. He was the popular kid and I was the stoner in the back sneaking bags of Cheetos and laughing at the wall." The audience burst into laughter. "Plus, with my dad being the Chief of Police, you know what that meant? I didn't laid until college. Guys were terrified of me!" There was a mixture of laughter and sounds of disapproval.

"I know, right? But, I do have an Edward Cullen story for you." Cheers. "Well, some of you know that I did Leno last week. He was there for the show, too. So, we're sitting there after my interview and are catching up on trivial stuff. You know how you meet someone you went to school with at the grocery store and you feel awkward?" More laughter. "Yeah, it was like that. Anyway, there's this long silence, so I decided to rest my eyes because I was tired. I'm woken up by the sound of my assistant's shocked gasp. Seriously, guys, it was so dramatic," I said as I recreated Alice's gasping shriek which caused more laughter. "I look around, and everybody is starting at me. I'm thinking, 'What's the big deal?' That's when I notice that my right hand has gone rogue on me and had THREADED itself through Edward Cullen's hair. The bitch didn't even ask if I wanted to fondle the guy's locks, it just waited until I was passed out and took off on its own like Thing from the fucking Addams family and was molesting his head. I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER DOING IT!" After a loud gasp, the audience followed through with their laughter.

"I look at Alice; poor Alice; she looks like a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. Then I look at Rose, my agent, and it's like I can hear her cheering me on in her head, 'Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!" The audience went crazy. "I'm thinking, 'What the fuck?' but Thingette doesn't stop rubbing his head. It's truly possessed. Then, it decides to get freaky and tugs his hair!" More laughter. "But get this, he didn't say anything, he just let Thingette here continue to molest his head," I pointed at my hand. "Now I know how a guy feels when he goes to grab a girl's boob and she doesn't say anything...awkward, expecting to be slapped, but somewhat unwilling to stop no matter how creepy he's being. It was the highlight of my week and Thingette is getting hot wax with her mani's for life." This sent the crowd into hysterics.

"I don't even know how I got into Hollywood to be honest. I was going to college and the shit just happened. Dude, I had so much fun in college, maybe too much fun to be honest." The audience nodded in agreement. "College was hard work, though. I'm not going to lie, I had to like…read and stuff." The audience chuckled. "I remember I had this Biology class this one time and I had to read an entire chapter on the male reproductive system." Females in the audience cheered. "Wow, you guys are horny," I said in response. "Don't laugh; the hands-on research for the test was fun." More laughter.

"Anyway, I learned that if you squeeze a guy's balls hard enough he'll pass out. An average person wouldn't really care about this information, but once I found this out, I was pissed." I heard snickers throughout the audience. "Why don't females have an organ we can squeeze to make us faint? Could you image the possibilities, ladies? Normally, you have to scare a woman to make her faint, but what if there was a way that if you pinched your clit too hard, you fainted? The possibilities are endless. Say you had a test you didn't want to take. You could be like, 'Professor, I don't feel go-'" I said as I grabbed my crotch and fell, feigning unconsciousness. "Fuck, I'm jealous!" I added as I got up off the ground.

"Just think of how many conversations with your mother you could get out of! And you wouldn't have to fake passing out from being overcome with the spirit in church, but you might have to explain your hand in your panties to the preacher. Hell, as far as I'm concerned, anytime I touch my clit, it's a religious experience, can I get an Amen?" The audience obliged amongst their laughter. "Uh huh, I'm just that good, but I digress.

"Yeah, by some freak accident, I managed to end up famous. How did this happen?" I asked. "I mean, when I first got here, I thought everyone was being so nice because it seemed like everywhere I went, people were hugging me," I said as the audience chuckled. "I was all like, 'The people are so nice here. I don't think Hollywood people are mean at all.' Then I realized that the guys were just hugging me to cop a feel and the girls were testing to see if my boobs were real." The audience responded with laughter. "I don't get the big deal about Lucy and Ethel," I said poking my chest out. "I know. I get it. My boobs are slightly bigger than they should be given my frame." The audience laughed. "But they're all natural and real. I promise." Men cheered and started to stand in their chairs.

"Sit down, you pervs!" I said as I walked back to the stool and sat on it. "Geez, you'd think I'd just told you guys Santa was real and bringing you porn for Christmas." More cheers.

Alright, time to wind it down.

"I know at these things, comedians usually end with one big joke. Well, I'm not most people, so I'm just going to tell you something. I never in a million years thought I'd be where I am today and I thank everyone who's here, watching this on TV, or has watched _Halfsies. _ I'm humbled to know that I wouldn't be here without you guys. On behalf of me, Lucy, and Ethel, thank you!" The audience cheered and I waved. "Goodnight!" I yelled as I ran offstage.

As I stepped foot offstage, Alice and Rose were waiting for me with open arms.

I was starting to like these hugs.

"Damn, girl," Rose said, "You did great. The ratings are going to be crazy!"

"Thanks. You think it was okay?"

"Perfect," Alice stepped in. "I knew it'd be funny when I heard the material, but it was different seeing it live."

"I know. It felt different," I added.

"Good job, Bells. Let's get some drinks!" Rose said as she hooked her arm around one of mine and Alice threw her arm around the other.

The girls forced me to go to a nightclub where we proceeded to get completely wasted.

I was paying for this shit in the morning; I just knew it.

We hailed a cab and made our way back to the hotel. Once we'd staggered our way down the hallway to our room, we entered and I noticed the biggest arrangement of flowers I had ever seen.

"Who sent these?" Rose questioned.

"Probably just a 'thank you' gift from the hotel for staying here," I said. Alice read the card and started to giggle more than she already was. Some people couldn't hold their liquor.

"Oh, Bella!" Alice sang and waved me over. I looked at the card and was speechless. What the fuck…?

_**I missed you at Leno.**_

_**No one was there to protect me against Tanya.**_

_**Good luck with the special.**_

_**I'll be watching.**_

**See you later!**

_**E.C.**_

**Woof! Woof! Am I still drunk?**

**I'm sorry it took me longer to update. I'm trying to figure out the normal time between chapters. It took me a while to get material for Bella's act. Did you like it? I'm sorry there wasn't any Edward and company in this chapter. It was getting a little long. I promise he'll make an appearance next chapter. Things are about to get serious. Hope ya still like it. Happy New Year!**

**My grandmother made me, my brother, and my cousins paint a wall because we said we were bored one day…one of the funniest moments of my life. We still talk about it to this day.**

**What do you all think of an EPOV? Thoughts? Concerns?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any other Stephanie Meyer work. Only the plot is my own.**

It took forever to find a version of HA that I was halfway able to edit. Errors. There are many. I'm sorry for that. However, the formatting on my pdf I have of this is shit. I'm doing the best I can. So…there.

**Ch.4- 12 Years is A Long Time**

**EPOV**

Flashback

_I pulled my car into a parking space in the student parking lot at Forks High_

_School. I've been living in this small rainy town all my life and I'd yet to find_

_anything that really excited me. Ever since birth, I'd been considered the golden boy of Forks. My parents, who were separately from wealthy families, are also both attractive and successful in their respective fields. These facts by themselves make me somewhat of a hot commodity among the students my age._

_It seems that the entire teenage population in this small town is after something. The girls want me for my looks, money and the notoriety associated with having me as a boyfriend. I'm well aware of my fortune in the looks department. They come on to me playing the sweet/stupid role, thinking I'll fall for it. I'm not fooled. I'm even ashamed to admit that I've taken advantage of my assets when I needed a favor or to get laid from the female population. However, I'd be lying if I said that being treated like a Ken doll wasn't a little infuriating. I'm not a fucking accessory._

_The boys at Forks High aren't that much better. Sometimes, I think they believe that by being my friend automatically gets them laid. I don't know how many times I've been asked to go to a party or some other event just to attract women for them. Selfish, I tell you. Selfish. That, along with always wanting to come over my house to mooch or stare at my mom, made me a little weary of my so called friends as well._

_The only people I can relate to are my parents. Yet, I still feel alone. I'd talk to my mother about my feelings. Yes, I'm a total mamma's boy. Sue me. She always says that "someday a girl will come around and turn your world upside down. When that happens, never let go. Then invite her for dinner so you're father and I can meet her." I never put too much thought into my mother's comment. She's always asking me if a girl caught my eye and I always give her the same answer, 'no.'" Then it happened._

_As I was gathering my things from the seat of my car, I saw an angel in my hindsight. She was sitting in a beat up Chevy, gazing at the entrance of the school. She looked extremely nervous, while playing with her thumbs in her seat. At that moment, she reminded me of a kid on their first day of school. I hadn't seen her around at all. Since Forks was a small town, I'd assume that this was the case. She had long brown hair that had a tint of red in it. From what I could see, she had a heart shaped face with full pouty lips. "I wonder how they taste," I wondered. As she exited her car, I was able to fully take in her excellence. She has a small button nose that was adorned with adorable freckles. All of this paled in comparison to the angel's eyes. They were big and full of expression. As I looked further, I realized_

_they were deep pools of brown. Her doe eyed expression as she entered the hallway reminded me of Bambi. "I'll call her Bambi until I figure out her name," I think to myself._

_Who is she?_

_I thought about this as I walked to the gym to get my schedule. Where I sat down with my "friends," the new girl was the topic of conversation._

_"Dude" Zach says to no one in particular. "Have you seen the new girl?" "Yeah." Peter says with too much enthusiasm for my taste. "She is fuck hot!" "I know right?" Zach says in agreement. "Look! Here she comes."_

_I look towards the entrance and am able to really look at here. Damn, she's beautiful. She has on an army jacket that seems to be a couple sizes too big with jeans and a white t-shirt. As I look around, I notice every guy staring at her while all the girls snort and roll their eyes. The angel just looks around, oblivious to the mayhem she's causing, looking for the correct table. As she takes off her jacket, I hear a series of gasps coming from the male population. I, myself am included._

_"Dude…" Peter says._

_"I know." Zack replies. "Her rack is magnificent. Push up bra?"_

_"No." Peter says, shaking his head. "That's what makes it awesome."_

_"What I wouldn't give for a seat on that motorboat…" Zach says as his face goes to gaze off into nowhere._

_I tuned them out after that part. To be honest, it pissed me off that my friends, as well as other people, were talking about my Bambi in such graphic terms. Couldn't they see how precious she was?_

_The sound of eerie silence breaks me out of my thoughts as I see my angel struggling to stay upright. She's about to fall. I started to get out of my seat in an attempt to help her when she… jumps? She jumped over the strap that had apparently caught her foot and lands with a loud thwack. The awkward silence continues with everyone staring at her._

_"AND SHE STICKS THE LANDING!" she yells as she spreads her hands, causing the entire gym, myself included, to start laughing._

_That was smart. She's smart. My Bambi is smart._ _As she makes her way back to her seat, I can see the blush invading her cheeks as she tries to hide it with her hair._

_Her blush is adorable._

_As luck would have it, she sits right in front of me… and Peter and Zach._

_"Get her up here." Peter mouths to me while pointing to my angel as Zach tries to see down her shirt. This happens constantly. Whenever one of them wanted to talk to a girl, I always had to 'reel them in.' I was the perpetual wingman. I wasn't going to let it happen this time. I was going to be selfish and get what I wanted. I tapped on her shoulder and she turns around. I'm momentarily stunned by the sight of staring into her eyes up close._

_"Hi." I started. "That was some quick thinking. It would have sucked to face plant on your first day. Wow. Nice save. Very nice save."_

_"Thanks. If I fell, I would have started break dancing." she replied, chuckling. She can break dance? Cool. "You can break dance?"_

_"Nope." She said, popping the p. Well, she's still cool. "But I would have learned really quickly."_

_I start to laugh at her nonchalance at the entire situation. She's funny too._

_I like her._

_As I start to form my mouth to introduce myself, the bell rings and she walks out of the door and away from me. That was the start of my Bambi obsession._

_I learned over the course of the day that her name was Isabella Swan, though she liked to be called Bella. Bella seems to fit, seeing that it meant beautiful in Italian. I liked Bambi better. The fact that her father was an ex Marine and Chief of Police in our small town seemed to cause a lot of speculation about her character. Was she the cliché goody two shoes cop kid or the bad girl who rebels against her father's profession?_

_The one thing I recognized about her was that she was a loner. Most of the clique leaders approached her during the first couple of weeks at school, yet she turned each one down to do her own thing. Another thing I noticed was that there was always laughter around her, when she wasn't in detention for doing something. She also had a fierce love of Cheetos and any other Frito Lay product. She's definitely a stoner._

_I would watch her when no one was looking. I began to notice little things about her like how she bit her lip when she's nervous, or blushes when she's embarrassed or how she plays with her hair when she's bored. She's also clumsy as Hell. My parents caught onto my crush when I'd pestered my dad about her condition everyday for a week when she'd broken her leg. My mother encouraged me to ask her on a date, but I'd always chickened out. Her cool demeanor intimidated me. What would she want with me? I'd been watching her for a couple of months when I'd finally decided to make my move._

_The only class we had together was Biology. However, we sat in alphabetical order so she sat in the back of the class._

_"Hi Bella" I said. She'd arrived early, leaving us and Stacey Brewer in class before the other students arrived. Brewer had a crush on me since forever. I wasn't interested. At all. I noticed the sour look she gave Bella when I said her name._

_"Y-yeah Edward?" she said nervously. Why was she nervous?_

_"Do you have a pen I can borrow?" I already had a pen. I just figured that if she was closer, I could ask her out without having to yell at her across the room. I watched mesmerized as she looked through her book bag._

_"Yeah. I got one." She says as she begins to walk across the room and give it to me. As she makes her way halfway to me, I see Stacey stick her foot out when Bella isn't looking. I couldn't stop it. I quickly see her smile turn into a look of horror as she falls… face first into my lap._

_I must say, I'd had fantasies where this event happened under different circumstances. However, the sound of Bella's shriek and horror while she was stuck to my zipper wasn't part of the plan. Fortunately, we were able to get her hair out before more people saw but the consequences were disastrous. She avoided me like the plague. Considering that Forks High was a small school and Forks was a small town, this took a lot of effort and skill. But, I never saw her again outside of Biology class, where she never talked to me._

_Next thing I knew, it was graduation. Something inside me couldn't let me leave Forks without at least letting her know how much I loved her. So, I figured I'd let her know without letting her know. I got her a present. It was a $500 gold Bambi necklace with diamonds, and yellow, pink and brown Swarovski crystals. I knew it was a pretty extravagant gift to get someone you barely knew, but when I saw it on the Tiffany's website, I knew I had to get it. Even though, she'd never know what the Bambi theme meant, I took comfort in knowing that she'd have something I gave her. After the graduation ceremony, I snuck it into her book bag with a note saying simply: To Bella._

_As I got home from graduation, I looked through my yearbook and was surprised to see that she wrote in it. I was ecstatic all the same._

_Edward:_

_I know that we don't know each other well. However, what I do know about you is that you are genuine. That's rare to find in anyone, yet alone someone so young. Don't lose that.—Bella Swan._

The next week, I went to Dartmouth to start college early. I dated other girls, but none of them matched the mystery that was my Bambi. For an art credit, I ended up taking an acting class. I was surprised at how well I took to it. I landed an agent after playing Brick in the theater department's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. First, I started off modeling until I landed a supporting role an indie movie. From then on, it seemed like I became a celebrity overnight and next thing I knew, I was the next big thing.

I forgot about Forks in all of my hype, even my Bambi. That was, until I turned on the TV one night and saw her beautiful face. The show was hilarious. Since that night, I watched every week or at least taped it on TiVo. When she started doing movies, I hoped that maybe our paths would cross, but they didn't. Then Leno happened.

When I walked into the room, I was shocked to say the least. I didn't know it was possible for her to look more beautiful than she did all those years ago. However, it seems like I was wrong. It baffled me. I couldn't believe my luck as I watched her interview from the screen entranced by her. After 10 years of pining over this woman, here we both are. At that moment, the statement (and order) my mother gave me all those years ago came into mind. Once I was talking to her, all the fear and awkwardness flew out of the window. Then she tugged my hair and left.

"Weird. Hot, but weird," said Emmet my agent as she left the room with her friends on her heels.

"I know. She's cool though. Very cool." I reply as I stare off into space. "Didn't you guys go to high school together?" He asked looking out the door,

probably staring at Bella's agent's ass.

"Yep. That's Bambi" I admitted. Once I signed with McCarty/Whitlock, Emmett, Jasper, and myself became the best of friends. I wasn't just a client with them. We talked about everything. I even admitted the mild stalker tendencies I displayed in high school. "I never told you that?" I asked.

"Uh, no" he replies, while laughing his ass off. "Dude, what are the odds?" "I know."

"Why didn't you try anything? It's official. You're a pussy." "Hey! I talked to her!" I half yelled in defense of myself. "Not hard enough. Did you see how she bolted out of here?"

"Yeah" I said dejectedly. I must admit that it hurt a little to see that as soon as she touched me, she felt the need to run away. Why has she been avoiding me all this time?

"Man, it might be time to move on." He says as he walks to the couch and gives me a pat on the back.

We couldn't finish the conversation as a result of Tanya coming back in the room.

I swear that chick can't take a hint. However, in light of the small conversation I had with Emmett, I considered what he said. Was I making an ass out of myself? Should I move on? I decided to watch her HBO special to find out. I even sent a large bouquet of flowers to be waiting in her hotel room once she got back. I cleared my schedule past 9 so I'd make sure that I could watch it. She was sensational. I couldn't help but laugh as she recalled her parents. They always were a little strange. Her dad scared the shit out of me.

Towards the end of the show, she recalled the Jay Leno incident and I realized something. She was embarrassed. That's why she left. Was this the reason why she avoided me all these years? Did she not think she was good enough? She's crazy if she thinks so because this simply isn't the case. As a result of my realization, I realized that I'd have to finally take the lead.

Was is coincidence? Was it fate? I was going to find out.

Operation Woo Bella Swan is officially in place


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight of any other Stephanie Meyer work. Only the plot is my own.**

**Mistakes...there are many.**

**Ch.5- Progress**

I woke up with a blinding headache. Damn Rosalie and those fucking Jager bombs. Yeah, they taste like licorice, but the head splitting headache you get is not worth it. I feel like Slash is playing a guitar solo in my brain. I am literally paralyzed. I need to go to the bathroom, but my legs refuse to move.

It would be really embarrassing if I pissed myself.

After another 15 minutes of willing my legs to move like Uma Thurman did in Kill Bill, I finally get the energy to roll out of bed and crawl to the bathroom. The problem is, now I now have to pee, poop, and puke.

Which is more important?

I quickly decide to take the trash can from the corner and sit on the toilet to cover my bases. It was not a fun 30 minutes. After my wakeup call from Hell, I look in the mirror to confirm my suspicions that I both look and feel like shit. I take a shower and get dressed, hoping to trick my body into behaving like normal. I'm getting too old for this. I'm never drinking again. Ever.

You said that last time

I throw up, again, and I feel better to where I don't want to jump off of a building and put myself out of my misery. I walk, slowly, into the living room to see an extremely hung over Rose and Alice. They're worse off than I am. I didn't think it was possible. Rose is spread eagle over the sofa in her bra, panties and bunny slippers, still holding a bottle of tequila. There is a bowl next to the couch within projectile distance. I look in the corner of the room to find Alice holding an ice bucket like it's the Holy Grail, rocking back and forth mumbling something.

The Lord's Prayer?

"Alright ladies, rise and shine" I say calmly as I look through the room for a bottle of aspirin.

"Bella," Alice whispers. "Stop screaming at us."

"Yeah." Rose adds. "That's uncalled for."

"Okay" I say, laughing as I grab three bottles of water. I give each girl, including myself, two pills and a bottle. "Get showered and dressed while I make breakfast."

I hear a grumbled "fine" and struggled "okay" as I head off to the kitchen to make something to help kill this hangover. After careful deliberation, I decided to make pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast. Once it's done, I'm greeted by a much more lucid looking Alice ad Rose.

"Mmm," Alice hums as she sniffs the air. "Smells good."

"Thanks. I know."

"I'm never, ever, ever, drinking again. This shit isn't worth it." Rose said, sitting down on a bar stool.

"I said the same thing." I reply. "But then again, we always say that." "Well, I mean it this time."

"You said that last time." I say laughing as I pour orange juice in three cups. "Eat up bitches. Let's soak up this alcohol."

Alice and Rose both had two pancakes each with a small helping of eggs and one strip of bacon. I had 5 pancakes, 4 eggs, and three pieces of bacon. What is it about breakfast food that cures hangovers?

Damn, I love breakfast food.

"Bella," Alice says as she eyes my plate in wonder. "I will never get over how much you eat and still manage to stay thin.

"I know." Rose agrees. "It's like her stomach is a black hole."

"Stop being jealous." I say as I take my last bite of food. "I just have a high metabolism."

"Welllll," Rose adds mischievously. "It's Monday. You know what that means."

Shit. It's Monday? Again?

"No." I reply quickly. "I'm sorry. Hell no. You can't make me." "Bella, we agreed that you'd do this after Paul quit."

"Who's Paul?" Alice questioned confused.

"Bella's ex personal trainer…the fourth one this year"

"Four? It's only August."

"Well," I say in defense. "He couldn't handle my essence."

"Really?" Rose asks as she starts to laugh. "What he couldn't handle was you sneaking a Kit Kat in your sports bra and eating it during your training session while he wasn't looking." She finishes while chuckling the whole time making Alice start to laugh as well.

"That was only like three times!" I say with my arms folded across my chest.

"You did that? Three times?" Alice laughs. "No wonder he quit."

I've had bad luck with personal trainers. They're a little bit too pushy for my taste. I have no problem with working out. Okay, maybe I have a little problem with working out. I just don't understand the big deal about having a Whopper every once in a while. If you say you're hungry for something other than grains and oat, they look at you like you're a serial killer. My love for food has cost me three personal trainers. One tried to suggest that I eat organic food. She's the only person I've ever fired. It never would have worked.

We were from two different worlds

"BELLA!" Rose shouts, bringing me back to Earth. "A deal is a deal. Come on. Thirty on the treadmill and thirty on the elliptical."

"But—"

"No buts. That's only an hour. Be grateful I'm not a trainer." She says walking towards the gym. "To make it easier, I'll work out with you."

"Me too." Alice joins.

"Thanks" I say walking towards the room to change into a sports bra and some sweat pants. I walk over to the exercise room in the suite and get on the devil machine that is the elliptical first. A couple minutes after I start, Alice joins me on the treadmill while Rose starts to lift weights in the corner.

That's why her slaps and punches hurt so much

"Rose, you're pumping some serious iron. If you aren't careful, you'll get Madonna arms." I say laughing as she gives me the finger while lifting the weight at the same time. She's good. As Alice and I switch off exercise machines, the questions start.

"So.." Rose starts as she sits down on the floor to start crunches. "What are you going to do about those roses?

"Roses? What roses?"

"You know…" Alice takes over. "The ones Edward Cullen sent you?"

Those were real?

"Those were real?" I seriously ask. "I convinced myself that they were a drunken figment of my imagination."

"We know" Rose snickers. "You kept mumbling, 'they're not real, they're not real,' all over again. Damn girl, he's Edward Cullen, not Freddy Krueger."

"Yeah, yeah" I say as I wipe the sweat from my forehead. " I don't know what to do about it, to be honest. Maybe a nice 'thank you?'"

"I know a nice way to say 'thank you,'" Alice says giggling, her voice dripping with innuendo.

"Stop being nasty!" I laugh as I try to think of a way to show appreciation without having to talk to or see him. "Besides, it's not like he sees me that way anyway."

"Are you kidding me?" Rose interjects as she stops mid crunch to stand up. "You weren't in that green room with us. He definitely wants to ride the Bella train."

"Yep" Alice tells. "He wants the Swan special. All you have to do is reel him in."

"You like him. He likes you. I don't see the problem here."

"You guys don't get it." I say as I hop off the treadmill. "We're way too different. He was the golden boy. I was the stoner. He was rich. I wasn't. He had an army of slut followers. I never got asked out on a single date. He was just being nice. Drop it."

"No." Alice replies. "You don't get it. Do you think we'd tell you he liked you if we didn't really think so? Do you think we're that cruel?"

"No."

"Then stop second guessing this and just go for it. Besides, roses, orchids, and lilies? In coordinating colors? That bouquet was expensive. You don't just give something that extravagant to anybody."

"Look" Rose says, coming back into the room with the bouquet. She snatches the card and rereads the note. "He says that he missed you. He also says he'll see you later. He wants to see you later Bella! Why else would he want to see you later? He likes you."

"She's got a point Bella." Alice adds. "He definitely likes you. Call him. Thank him for the flowers. That way, you won't have to worry about any inappropriate touches or embarrassing falls." She laughs as she finishes.

"Shut up" I say in defense. "Besides, I don't even have his number. How would I

call him?" I add in a sly tone.

Get around that bitches

"Hello, Emmett." I hear Rosalie speak into her phone.

Fuck

"It's Rosalie. Well I enjoyed you the other night as well." I hear her talking in her sexy voice. Ew. "Well, maybe one night we could… Wait! I need to ask you a favor. Do you have Edward Cullen's phone number?" I then see her roll her eyes and scoff in response to Emmett's next comment. "It's not for me. Although, it would be payback for Miley Cyrus. It's for Bella Swan. Why are you laughing? What's so funny?" She asks as she starts to nod her head at his response. "He sent her a lovely bouquet of roses and she would like to thank him." She then looks at me with the 'I just beat you' face and begins to write down a number. "Thanks!" She says into the

phone.

"Damn." Alice says impressed. "You must have given it to him something fierce last week to get him to give you Cullen's number in less than 1 minute."

"I know." I agree. "Only someone completely pussy whipped would do that. Or he's just a shitty agent. You could have been a serial killer."

"It doesn't matter. Because, I got Edward's phone number. And you have to call him." Rose sings as she waves the number in my face. "No excuses now bitch!" She laughs.

"Belllla, Belllla, Bellla, Bellla" Alice starts to chant as I reach in my bag for my phone.

"Oh shut up" I say casually as I snatch the phone number out of Rose's hand. I

walk into my room and notice that they are following me.

Do they want to witness my humiliation?

"What are you doing? Can I have a little privacy? If I'm going to humiliate myself, I'd rather do it in private." I say as I close the door.

"Touchy" I hear Rose hiss as they walk away.

I pray a silent prayer as I mentally prepare myself while I hear the phone ring. "Hello" he says with that sex god voice of his. I go into swoon mode.

Are my panties moist? Yes. Yes, they are. "Hello?" he says in a questioning tone. "Hello, is this Edward Cullen?"

"Yes, who is this?"

I could have some fun with this

"Good afternoon. I'm Detective Benson from the IRS. Are you aware that you owe 12 million dollars in backed taxes and fees?"

"What! There has to be some sort of mistake" He says in a worried tone. "You're right. I'm just fuckin' with you. This is Bella Swan. How are you?"

"Oh thank God it's you." He says relieved. "I'm fine. Not cool by the way. At all. How are you? How'd you get this number?"

Is he mad? Did he not want me to call him?

"I'm sorry. That was mean. I shouldn't have just called you—"

"No, it's fine. It was funny. I just didn't know you had my number." "I didn't. Rose, my agent, got it from Emmett."

"Okay. So you have my number but I don't have yours. That's not fair."

He wants my number? He wants my number! Squeal.

"Well, you have caller history." I reply with an, I guess…flirty tone? At least, I think so.

"I suppose I do. What do you have planned this week?"

Where is this going?

"Nothing really. I have this week off for vacation kind of." "Really? Where are you going?" He asked in a disappointed tone.

"Nowhere. I kind of have the week off. I still have to go and practice for the Halfsies finale in a week and a half so I need to be in town. But, besides that, I'm free as a bird. I'll take what I can get."

"I hear that. It gets so hectic at times. Well, if you aren't busy on Wednesday, my friends and I are having a barbeque at my house. You and your friends are welcome. I know Emmett is dying to see Rosalie again. What did she do to him?" He asks laughing.

"You know, rocked his world, changed his life, same ol' same ol'" I answer nonchalantly. "Sure, I-I mean we'll definitely be there."

"Great. I can't wait to see you."

"I can't either." There is a long silence on the phone. We just sit there, listening to each other breath, not doing or saying anything.

"Edward" "Yeah?"

"Thanks for the flowers. I love orchids. They're my favorite. That was really sweet of you."

"You're welcome. See you Wednesday." "Okay. Bye."

"Bye"

I stare at the phone once we hang up and congratulate myself.

I didn't make an ass out of myself. Progress!

This is more of a set up chapter. Next, we'll get these two kids together


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any other Stephanie Meyer work. Only the plot is my own.**

**Ch.6- It's about time**

After I finished my self congratulations, I did my celebratory victory dance. I did it when I landed a role on Halfsies, when my movies topped the box office, and when I landed the Radio City Music Hall. It is a mixture of the cabbage patch, running man, with a hint of the tootsie roll. It's very complex.

You probably couldn't do it.

I was broken out of my thoughts by the sound of laughter. I walked out of the door to see what was going, only to be hit by Alice and Rosalie's flying/laughing bodies. I'm surprised Alice hasn't passed out for lack of oxygen. Rosalie's face is scarlet red and she's crying from laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?" I ask. I didn't see the hilarity in this situation. "You were doing your happy dance weren't you?" Rose questions.

"Maybe," I reveal. "Even if I was, why would Alice be laughing? She hasn't even seen it."

" Rose showed me." Alice says, finally calming down from her spell. "Whatever. It's not funny. You're just mad because you can't do it." "I'm not jealous. I'm thankful." Rose says, getting off of the floor.

"Just because of that, I'm not going to tell you what Edward said." I say slyly. "Stop joking!"

"What did he say? Whatdidhesay?" Alice says as she follows me into the living room of the hotel.

"He invited us to his house. He's having a barbeque on Wednesday. Guess what

Rose? Emmett is going to be there!" I say nudging Rose. She gave me the finger.

Feel the love?

"He invited you to a friendly gathering?" Rose asked with a sense of disappointment.

"Yeah, well no. I'm not sure. He sounded kinda flirty on the phone. At least, I think so."

Shit. I got excited for nothing

"Well, what did he say?" Alice probed. "He invit—"

"We know that." Rose said, rolling her eyes. "What happened leading up to that?"

"Well," I say in amusement. "When he picked up the phone, I told him I was from the IRS and he owed 12 million dollars."

"WHAT?" They both yelled.

"Why would you do that?" Alice yelled.

"I thought it was funny. He laughed. It's cool." I say in defense. "Then…" Rose says

"He asked me how I got his number. Then he was all like, 'you have my number, but I don't have yours. That's not fair.'" I add in my Edward voice, smiling.

"Finally! We're getting somewhere." Rose says. "You had us worried for a second." Alice says.

"So, is that good? I mean, I thought it was good." I ask.

"That's great." Alice says. "What are you going to where? What am I going to wear?"

"I don't know. Maybe something from your 20,000 shopping binge?" I say, cringing. I still can't believe she spent that much.

"No, we need something special. This is very important. For all of us. I can feel it." "You're making me go shopping aren't you?" I ask.

"Yep. That's why we don't have anything scheduled for today. It's New York. You didn't think you'd get out of this city without shopping did you?" Rosalie asks with a duh tone.

Damn it!

"Well, I prayed for it. Come on guys! How about I give you my card and I stay at the hotel? I hate shopping." I ask hopefully.

"It's not the same!" they shouted in harmony. "We did it last time." I said to Alice.

"Last time we didn't have a choice." "PLEEEAAAASSSEE!" I whine. "NO!"

Damn, that always worked when I was little

I finally gave up trying to argue and put on a hoodie, some jeans, and converse. I had my hair in a loose bun on my head with a borrowed pair of Rose's big ass sunglasses. Once I got done arguing with Alice over my wardrobe, we were in a cab on our way to my torture. Once we arrive to our destination, Rose and Alice act like two unattended junkies left alone in a crack house.

Maybe it's my A.D.D. talking, but I don't understand how anyone could shop in one store for more than an hour. If you don't see anything in the rack the first time, why look again? You want to know the freaky thing is? It seems like there is always more. It's never ending. It's horrible.

I'm going to die in this fucking store!

"BELLA!" Rose yells as Alice snaps her fingers in front of my face. "W-what?" I ask, falling back into reality.

"Thinking about Edward?" Alice smirks.

"No. I'm thinking about the ways I can get banned from this store so I don't have to come back here anymore."

"You wouldn't" Alice says in a tone of disbelief. "Would I?"

"Shut up and try this on." Rose huffs as she shoves a swimsuit in my face.

A swimsuit? This wasn't part of the deal!

"Woah! I didn't know we were shopping for swimsuits. Why do we need swimsuits?" A ask no one in particular.

Rose and Alice look at each other as if to ask "which one should tell her?" Alice steps forward and puts her small hands on my shoulders.

"There is a barbeque at Edward's house right?" "Yes."

"Where do you barbeque?" "Outside"

"Where outside"

"The backyard" I say in an obvious voice.

"This isn't working." Alice huffs. "Look. It's a barbeque. In the summertime.

People tend to swim at barbeques in the summertime. You don't have a bathing suit. Do you understand?"

Oh

"Oh. Well, I don't have to swim." I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yes. Yes, you do." "But—"

"Just try the fucking thing on. If you buy it, wear it under your clothes." Rose whisper shouts as she forces me into the dressing room.

"Rose, you need to stop lifting those weights." I laugh as I rub my shoulder.

I look at the scraps of material and immediately begin to feel self conscious, but not in the way most women are. Ever since I was little, I'd been blessed with a high metabolism. I've been able to pretty much eat what I want with no consequences on my weight. Then puberty happened and I got boobs, hips and ass. Since then, I've felt hyper aware of the attention I got as a result of my physique. I've had this body since I was twelve. You can only imagine the kind of stares I got at that young age. You'll be surprised at how creepy older men are until you see them look at a twelve year old with lust in their eyes. In school, I dressed in bigger clothes to hide it. Sometimes, I feel ungrateful. I mean, lots of women would kill to have my body and my situation. I know that. That is what makes it so ironic that I do what I do. But, it gets annoying when people talk to your chest instead of your face.

As I try the bathing suit on, I realize that it's not that bad. It's a pink string bikini with ruffled edges. Simple and cute. Normally, I detest the color, but I had to admit that it looked nice against my skin. I liked it a lot. The fabric covered an acceptable amount of cleavage, so that was a plus.

"Bella!" Alice calls. "Come out and model for us."

I walk out from behind the curtains and stand in front of the area looking for them. As I look around, I feel the stares from all over the room. As a habit, I cross

my arms over myself as I blush and try to make my way back to the dressing room. I

am startled by my friends' presence behind my back.

"Dayum!" Alice whispers. "You look hot. You gotta get it Bella!"

"I know." Rose agrees. "If I had that body, I'd have 1000 bikinis. Shit, I'd wear them in the winter." She adds as she laughs.

"I like it. I think I'll get it."

"Edward won't know what hit him."

"Well…" I say as I shrug your shoulders and head back and change into my clothes. We begin to make our way over to the cash register.

"You have a wax. Right Bella?"

"Yeah. That's just hygiene. Just because no one's parking in the driveway doesn't mean you shouldn't mow the lawn." I add, making the two laugh.

Alice and Rose forced me to buy just about every form of clothing that there was. Dresses. Jeans. Shoes. You name it. I can feel the sweat forming on my brow as I imagine how much this is going to cost. The lady at the register begins to ring up my purchases and all I can hear is the 'beep' sound the scanner makes. The sound lasts too long.

"And.." the saleslady says as she totals up the tax on my bill. "Your total comes up to 9,349.98"

"Oh my God" I say as my right leg gives out causing me to stumble onto the store counter, effectively knocking my glasses off.

"Bella Swan?" she asks excitedly. "Yeah."

"I heart you so much. I have every season of Halfsies and Chart Toppers is my favorite movie of all time. Can I have an autograph and a picture?"

"Sure." I reply as I smooth out my hair and sign my autograph and pose for her camera phone. After much mental preparation, and silent crying, I give the young woman my credit card and we make our way back to the hotel.

The next day, we take a flight back to Los Angeles, where the paparazzi are waiting like vultures. Once I finally got home, I took off my pants and headed straight for the bed. As I started to shut my eyes, I heard my phone buzzing signaling that I had a new text message.

**E: Hey Are you back in town?**

I sat and stared and this harmless message for 5 minutes before I gathered the courage to text back.

**B: Hi Back Just got back this afternoon. How's it going?**

**E: Good. I just wanted to know how you were doing. Are you still coming tomorrow?**

**B: Of course!**

**E: Good! Can I ask you a favor?**

What favor? Get married? Have babies?

**B: Sure**

**E: Can you bake something? Anything? Ever since I told Emmett you were coming, he's been obsessing about your cupcakes.**

Cupcakes?

**B: Your late night texting me to ask about cupcakes? I think I'm insulted. Figures, guys only want girls for their goodies.**

**E: Well, I've had them and they are quite delicious.**

**B: Why thank you (southern belle voice). I'll see what I can do. It may not be cupcakes though.**

**E: It doesn't matter. You could bring Ding Dongs and Emmett would be happy. Thanks.**

**B: You're welcome. Something tells me that a hungry and disappointed**

Emmett is not a good combo.

**E: You assume correctly**

I put the phone down and try to find sleep again. I must admit, the fact that Edward only asked about cupcakes was a little disappointing. Maybe he only invited us because he felt he needed to be nice about the Jay Leno thing or because we

went to school together. Did I over think this?

I go to bed less relaxed than I'd hoped. I woke up to a very eager Alice and a somewhat pissed Rose. She doesn't like being up early either. How any human person is able to be this excited at 9 in the morning is beyond me.

"Bella," she says rushing towards my side of the bed. "Help me. What should I wear?"

"You're asking me for fashion advice? You're either really nervous or really desperate." I say as I roll my body over to face my other side.

"Fine. Okay. Just help me pick." She pleaded.

"The orange one." I say as I point over my shoulder.

"What are you talking about? I don't have an orange one. You aren't even looking!" She shouts while pinching my shoulder.

Ouch!

"Ouch! My shoulder still hurts from when Rose's muscular ass shoved me into the dressing room."

"Sorry. I need someone to pick. I know that either of these will look fabulous on me. I can't choose. I'm meeting my destiny today. I can feel it" she says seriously as she holds up two bikinis, one red and one purple to my face.

"Please, Bella." Rose pleaded. "I'm begging you. She's been stressing for the last

45 minutes. I finally just walked in and woke you up." "Fine, then I'd say the red." I say.

"Okay. Purple it is." She replies as she puts the red one back into her bag. I'm too tired to think of a comeback.

During the next three hours, Alice perfected her outfit, Rose made a few threatening phone calls, and I started to make a cake for the barbeque. It's my GranAnne's recipe. I didn't feel like going to the store, so I made a strawberry angel food cake. I had two cartons of strawberries that I probably wouldn't eat. So, I sliced them all up and placed them on the top and sides of the cake. I put it in the freezer

to make it hold.

GranAnne would be proud

After, we all got dressed and the cake was solid, it was time to go. Alice had on a white sundress, with a tan belt and tan wedges and one of those big hats with her bikini showing through the fabric. She looked cute. Rose chose not to wear real clothes and settled for a cute wine colored coverall with a cute jeweled collar with her red bikini underneath. I wanted to actually wear clothes. After much arguing with the WonderBitches, I settled for a white t shirt, a jean vest and khaki shorts… along with 4 ½ inch heels. I chose not to pack the bikini I bought at the last minute.

We decided to take Rose's red Mercedes convertible, frankly because I didn't know how'd I'd be able to drive in the shoes they put me in and Alice's car was too small. It turns out, Edward didn't live that far from me, so we arrived at his house in about 15 minutes. By the time we got to the door, the party had been going on for an hour or two.

"You ready ladies?" Alice asks as she rings the doorbell. "Our destinies are waiting on the other end of that door. I'm so excited." She says jumping in place.

"I'm ready to come inside." Rose answers. "It's hot as a bitch out here." She adds as she rings the doorbell again. This time someone answers.

The man at the door is completely gorgeous. Not Edward gorgeous, but he's hot. He has the stereotypical California look. He has blonde hair, blue eyes and washboard abs that are on display for everyone to see. As he opened the door, he's stunned speechless. But he wasn't looking at Rose, or at me. He was looking at Alice.

"Well," Alice says. "We were outside for 2 whole minutes. You've kept me waiting." She waves her finger at him.

"I'm sorry M'am" He says in a southern accent. "I'm Jasper Whitlock." He says as he holds out his hand.

"Alice Brandon" she replies as she takes his hand. He ushers her into the house, leaving us behind at the door.

"Did you see that shit?" Rose asks.

"I know. That bitch left us outside." I say as I walk into the house with Rose following me.

"Where's Emmett?" Rose asks.

"Wow. You've got it bad." I laugh. "Help me find a fridge."

"Follow me" says the bell like voice… that came out of nowhere and scared the shit out of me.

"Ahh!" I scream, although it kind of turned into a moan when I saw him. His auburn locks are wet. He must have been in the pool. He's wearing green swim trunks that match his forest green eyes perfectly. He's perfect. "Edward, you can't sneak up on me like that. I almost dropped the cake." I say as I take the cover off and wave it in front of his face.

"We can't have that." He says as he takes the cake as sets it down on the table and pulls me into a hug. "Thanks for making it. It was really short notice, but I would have killed Emmett if he asked about cupcakes again."

He smells like sexiness

"Well, you're too pretty for prison. We can't have that." I say causing him to chuckle. "How's it going? How's the party?"

"Better now that you're here. Let me show you where the others are." He says as he grabs me by the hand. As soon as his skin touches mine, we stop in our tracks. I feel this… spark. It's like static electricity, except it's stronger. Slowly, he turns and looks at me.

Did he feel it too?

"Uh… sorry." He says as he looks at our hands. He doesn't let go. "It's okay. It happens."

As we walk outside, I notice that there aren't that many people here. So far, there is me, Edward, Rose, Emmett, Alice and Jasper. I also notice that there is a pool. Only Alice is in it though, splashing everybody who gets close enough. Rose is in a chair staring at Emmett's ass, while Emmet and Jasper are fighting over the tongs and spatula by the grill.

"Dude, give it!" Emmett shouts at Jasper as he tries to maneuver over his shoulder.

"No. Let me do it. You're gonna fuck it up. Again!" Jasper replies as he jerks away from Emmett's grasp.

"That was one time." Emmett pouts.

"Please" Jasper scoffs. "You burn toast. Now let me do it." He adds while trying to flip the chicken on the grill and escape Emmett's prying hands at the same time.

What is it with men and grills?

I lean over and whisper to Edward, "Aren't you going to intervene. I mean, this is your house."

"And get caught in the middle? Hell no. They'll sort it out. Besides, I want to talk to you."

"Okay." I say as I start to walk towards the table. Then I realized something that stopped me in my tracks. Whoever cooked the meat cold fuck it up.

I love barbeque too much to let that happen.

"Edward, Jasper is Southern right?" "You noticed the accent?" he asks. "Of course. What state?"

"Texas"

Problem solved

"Hey Emmett!" I yell, getting his attention.

"Yeah Bella?" He asks as he turns to me while still pushing Jazz around the grill. "I made a cake. It's in the freezer."

"No way!" he yells as he puts the spatula down and runs in the house. Edward looks at me puzzled. "Why did you do that?"

"Yeah," I said nonchalantly. "Like I'd trust anyone over a Texan to barbeque. Problem solved."

Edward starts to laugh hysterically.

" I'm going to have to start doing that… distracting him with food." He says as he calms down.

"Well, living in a house with 3 men, you learn about the power of food."

"A way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

" And the way to a woman's heart is through her sweet tooth." "Really?"

"Really. This is valuable information. You should write it down." I say with a faux serious face.

"I guess. I'm really glad you made it. I've wanted to talk with you for the longest time. But, we never were in the same place." He says.

Due to careful planning

"That's Hollywood for you." I shrug. "But, I'm very glad you invited me. That was nice of you."

"I didn't invite you to be nice. I invited you because I wanted you to come. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd been avoiding me the past 11 years." He says with a sly tone and a raised eyebrow.

He doesn't know. Does he?

I answer with a chuckle and a shrug. "What have you been up to?" I ask, trying to make small talk.

"I'm just finished shooting this new movie. It's really wearing me out emotionally." He says as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"What's it about, if you don't mind me asking." I say as I scoot a little closer to him.

"It's about this couple who got married when they were too young. One day the husband, me, gets fed up and leaves. He's gone for 2 years. Then he comes back and tries to get back in his family's good graces."

"Wow. That sounds heavy."

"I know. It's so different from the typical action movies I've done. I'm nervous as

Hell. I feel like everything I do is wrong." He says messing with his hair.

"You'll do fine. I'm sure everyone feels that way at some point or another. Besides, they wouldn't have hired you if they didn't think you could do it. Just be yourself…

being someone else." I say with a chuckle at the end. He laughs too.

Did that make sense?

"I guess you're right. I'm just anxious about it. It's really a stepping stone for this project I've been hearing about."

"What movie?" I ask interested. On my side of the Hollywood tape, there aren't many secret projects.

"It's about a Nazi who fell in love with a Jewish captive during World War II. I

want that part so fucking bad. I'm trying to prove myself now."

"You can do it. I have faith in you. You're a very talented actor. They'll see it." I say as I grab his hand and smile.

"I hope so." He says while brushing his thumb over my knuckles. "Do you think you might want to—"

"Bella!" Emmett shouts running over to me with a piece of cake on a plate. His mouth and nose are covered in vanilla frosting and bits of strawberries. "This cake is awesome. You must give me the recipe." He looks at me with a pout, but he's no Alice.

"No dice McCarty. That's my GranAnne's recipe. She'll fly to L.A. and kick my ass if she found out I told anyone."

"No shit? The GranAnne? The one that made you paint a wall because you were bored? She sounds awesome." Says Jasper.

"She is" I say, nodding my head. "Please. She won't know. It's so good."

"I'll make it. But, I won't give you the recipe." "Please"

"No"

"Please"

"No" "Please"

"Not gonna happen" I say.

"The food is ready guys." Jasper says as he brings over a hug platter with ribs, burgers, hotdogs and any other barbeque meat there is. There is also potato salad, mac and cheese, corn, and okra. Oh my goodness!

My stomach just got horny

The girls came back from doing whatever is they were doing and we all sat down and dug in. When I got ready at home, I promised myself that I would eat a socially acceptable amount of food. Then I looked at all of the food they had.

Fuck it!

I ate half a slab of ribs, a cheeseburger, a hot dog, mac and cheese, potato salad and okra.

"Finally. A woman shares my appetite" Emmett says, as I finally look up from my plate. I notice that everyone is looking at me. Edward has a look of disbelief, Jasper looks amazed, Emmett looks proud, Alice looks embarrassed, and Rose's face shows no emotion.

"What?" I ask as I wipe my mouth free of barbeque sauce. "I'm not one of those salad-eating bitches. When I'm hyngry, I eat."

"I noticed" Edward said while chuckling.

After that, we all start laughing. After we're done eating, we start to clean up. It was fairly easy, seeing that we ate on paper plates. As I was headed back to the kitchen, I forgot that I had on 4 ½ inch heels and I slipped, dropping the remainder of chicken on myself and the floor.

"Shit!" I yell. "Edward, I'm so sorry. I'm clumsy. And the shoes. Then I fell. I'm so sorry. I'll clean it up." I say as I run to the kitchen to find something. He runs after me laughing and holds my hands to stop me from pacing.

"It's hardwood flooring. It will be okay." He says, wetting a cloth and cleaning the floor.

"I need to change clothes." I say as I take in my stained outfit.

"It's okay." Rosalie interrupts. "I packed your swimsuit. It's in my bag." She adds with a raised eyebrow.

I thought I left that shit at home!

Luckily enough, Rose put a coverall in her bag as well. That way, I'm not totally exposed, even though it's basically see through. I put on the offensive outfit and start to make my way over to the others. Then, I noticed something.

A pool table!

I walk to the table and pick up a cue. It's been a long time since I've played. I

wonder if I still got it.

"You like pool?" Edward asks, scaring the shit out of me. Again.

"Oh my God!" I shout. "Damn it, Edward! Can you carry a bell?" I laugh

"Can you pay attention to your surroundings? You're extremely unobservant." "You just enjoy scaring me." I reply. "That isn't funny."

"I think it is. Are you any good?" He asks, pointing to the table.

Oh yeah

"I'm okay. You wanna play? I'm not much of a player but…" I say as I shrug my shoulders. I could have fun with this situation.

"Okay." He says, grabbing a cue. "Maybe I can help."

We line the balls up and Edward breaks, but nothing goes in. I start to aim my cue and Edward comes up behind me.

"Wait." He says as he comes closer behind me hovers over and puts his hands over mine. I'm pretty sure to whoever looked at this from the outside would think something nasty was going on. "Your stance is off. It might throw off your aim."

No it isn't. Wait a minute… OH! He wants to "tutor" me in pool. Okay master. I'll play this game.

"Oh." I say as he straightens out my arm and shows me how to follow through with a stroke. I strike the cue ball, sending the 7 ball in the corner pocket.

"Good." He compliments. "Try to keep doing that and you'll be fine." He says as he takes a shot. This is how the game went for the next 20 minutes. I'd "miss." Then he'd "help me hold the stick properly," while offering words of encouragement the whole time. Edward "won" the game, while I still had 3 more balls left on the table.

This is so cute

"You're doing well. You might even beat me someday." He says with an arrogant flair to his voice.

"Hey!" I say. "That day may come sooner than you think."

Don't tempt me sexy

"Well…" he says as she twists his hands around the pool stick. "We're having such a good time. I was wondering if maybe you would-"

"There in here guys!" Jasper yells out of nowhere. Edward scoffs. "In the pool room." The others come and join us in the room.

"We've been looking everywhere for you guys." Alice says.

"To be honest, I thought you guys were off somewhere getting it on." Emmett says, effectively triggering my blush. "This" he says pointing to the pool table, "is a little disappointing." He adds, followed by getting a well-deserved smack from Rosalie.

I love that woman

"We were just playing a friendly game of pool. Edward beat me." I say. Rosalie gets a shit eating grin on her face. She knows about my mad pool skills.

Emmett's dimples come out to play as he grabs a pool stick and plants his feet in front of me.

"Okay, Bella. What do you say to a little wager?" He asks, a little too confident. Edward looks at me hesitantly. Jasper looks intrigued, like he knows something.

"What terms?" I ask.

"When I win, you have to give me that cake recipe." He says with a smile. "But, it's my grandma's. Is there anything else you want?"

"Nope. Not at the moment. What's wrong? Scared?" "N-No." I say with a slight stutter.

That's right. Let him think you're scared.

"Fine." I say, shrugging my shoulders. "You can't be that good. Edward taught me well." I say as Rose hides her laugh with a cough. Alice looks confused. "But, if I win, you have to let Alice give you a makeover and we get to take pictures." I say

pointing to everyone.

"Please" Emmett scoffs. "Deal." He says as he grabs chalk to out on his cue. As I walk to find some chalk of my own, Edward grabs my arm.

"Are you sure? Emmett is really good at pool." He tells me. "I don't think you're ready to play him." He adds hesitantly.

"Come on Edward." I say with a slight giggle. "Have a little faith." I add with a wink.

"You wanna break?" Emmett asks. "I figured I should let you shoot at least once." He laughs.

"I guess." I say as I set the balls into the rack. I chalk my cue and set up my shot. With one stroke of my stick, I sink two solids and one stripe.

"Solids" I say, grinning at Emmett. I walk over to the opposite end of the table and line up my next shot, knocking the 3rd and 7th ball into opposite pockets. Next, I jump the cue, making it hop over the stripes and sink the 13th ball. There is only one left, besides the 8 ball. It's very tricky. The 1st ball is directly in front of the 8 ball, which is next to the pocket. If I shoot at the ball, the 8 ball could go in, making me lose the game.

"Nice job Bella," Emmett jokes. "You had me worried for a second. There's no way you're gonna make that shot."

"Really?" I ask as I hop on the side of the table. To be honest, I was a little nervous. I hadn't made this shot since college.

Hopefully, it's like riding a bike

I sit on the edge of the table and put the cue behind me back. I shoot the cue ball to where it slides down the railing, knocking the 1st ball in the side pocket. The 8 ball goes in seconds after.

I won! I won! No one's getting GranAnne's recipe.

I do my victory dance. People are too amazed to laugh. Rose starts to laugh hysterically, causing Alice and Jasper to join her. Emmett looks dazed. I look over at Edward, who has a small smile on his face.

"Come on Emmett" Alice squeals. "Let's make you pretty." "Are you serious?" Emmett shouts.

"Yep." I answer. "A deal's a deal." I say as Rose and Alice drag Emmett outside while Jasper runs to get a camera.

"You beat him" he comes up behind me and hugs me. "You didn't really need my help earlier did you?"

"Not really." I laugh. "I was a pool shark in college. That's how I made my BWB fund."

"What's that?"

"Books, Weed and Beer." I chuckle.

"You are so awesome." He says wrapping an arm around me. "I feel so used. So cheap" He adds shivering in fake disgust.

"Whatever. You got to bend me over a table. I got to feel your abs through your shirt. It was a win/win."

"When you put it that way, do you want to go out sometime?" "Yeah"

Took ya long enough.

**Yay! They have a date. I'm setting a few things up. Even the things you think aren't important are put there for a reason. This chapter took me a long time to write. I hope you still like it! Have a nice week.**


	7. Chapter 7

Ch.7- Bullshit Detector

Edward and I go outside to find Emmett covered in eye shadow, blush, mascara and other forms of female torture. She even made him put on her sundress. It looked more like a tube top on him. How did it even fit?

I knew she wouldn't disappoint me

After everybody gets done taking pictures, the girls and I pack up our stuff up and leave. I wondered about taking a plate home, but Rose threatened bodily harm if I tried before I even voiced my question.

Bitch. She knows she wants to take some food home too. That food was delicious.

As I look around as we make our way to the door, I notice Rose and Emmett making out so fiercely that it's borderline inappropriate.

"Tilt your head a little of the left Emmett" I say laughing as they are shocked out of their lusty bubble.

"Fuck you Bella!" Rose replies, flipping me off.

"Rose," I say in an admonishing tone. "We all know that's Emmett's job. Now's not a good time to be out of work." I finish in a serious tone, causing everyone to laugh.

"Damn, you're funny Bell" Emmett says as he roughs up my hair. I smack him, but it doesn't do anything.

I think I hurt myself.

We finally make it to the doorway and I am engulfed by a pair of toned arms. Edward's toned, pale, sexy, slightly hairy arms.

"Thanks for coming. I'm looking forward to our date. I'll call you." He whispers in my ear causing my brain to shut down momentarily. This man is too sexy.

"I'll answer." I say walking to the car to join the girls. We didn't make it out of the driveway before I was interrogated.

"What was that?" Alice asked, stationing her body between Rose and my seat in the back.

"What was what?" I ask.

"You know what." Rose interrupts as she flicks off someone on the street.

"Oh, he said he'd call me about our date." I answer nonchalantly. I went temporarily deaf from Rose and Alice's squeals.

"When?" Rose asks.

"Don't know." I answer. I don't really feel comfortable talking about it just yet. "Enough about me, Alice." I say changing the subject. "What was with you and Jasper?" I ask, with my southern accent as I pronounce his name. Her eyes light up as she makes a dramatic sigh.

Mission accomplished

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaims. "He's so hot… and sensitive… and smart." She says, adding on a long list of Texas' attributes. "He's perfect." She says as she collapses onto her seat. "Did you see that six pack?"

"Tell me more! Tell me more!" I say in my Grease impersonation.

"Does he have a car?" Rose adds, completing the joke.

I knew she'd get it

"Shut up." She replies to our teasing. "Don't think you changed the subject."

Shit

"Yeah, when did Edward ask you out? When you were dry humping over the pool table?" Rose asks with a small giggle.

"Like you can talk, Mrs. Indecent Exposure. We all saw you and Emmett in the midst of foreplay when we were leaving." I reply.

"Whatever bitch. When did he ask?"

"After I kicked Emmett's ass at pool." I answer.

"Well, it took him long enough." Alice adds as we pull up to my driveway.

Man, I'm glad to be home. I'm sleepy as Hell. "I'm tired." I say as I get out the car and yawn.

"What else is new?" Alice asks.

"I swear, all you do is eat and sleep." Rose says.

"Don't forget shit." I say as I stick my tongue out.

"Gross." Alice says, as she shakes her head in mock disgust. "Don't forget. You have to go to rehearsals for Halfsies tomorrow." She tells me which makes me pull an air trigger to my head. "Also, your fan mail is piling up. I was thinking you could knock some of it out this week."

"Okay. Golden." I tell her as I make my way to the front door. "It's been fun, ladies. Bye. See ya tomorrow."

"Bye" they say in unison as we all go our separate ways.

When I get home, I take Captain for a walk, change into my pajamas and curl up with a book. I'm not tired enough to go to sleep yet. However, as I try to settle into my late night routine, I find myself unable to stop thinking about today's events. I was surprised my how down to Earth Edward and his friends are. I shouldn't have been. He seemed to be pretty nice in school.

I'm brought out of my inner monologue by the sound of my phone ringing.

Who is calling this late?

"Hello?" I ask in a groggy voice. My sleepiness was starting to get to me. "Hi. It's Edward." Says the melodic voice.

"You called."

"You answered." He reminds me. "Did I wake you?"

"No. I'm just a little sleepy. Your party wore me out today." I say with a light laugh.

"Well, it's not a good party unless you go home a little tired" he says.

"I heard that." I agree. "Although, it might be the minor concussion I sustained when I fell in your kitchen." I add laughing.

"Are you okay?" he asks worried.

"Yeah. It takes a lot worse to put me in the hospital these days. I'm fit as a fiddle."

Did I just say that?

"Well, that's good." he laughs. "We need you nice and lucid for our date. Is Friday good? I mean it might be a little short—"

"Friday is excellent." I say, cutting him off. "Sorry for cutting you off." I tell him, blushing through the phone.

"Good." He says, relieved. "I know I'm breaking the whole, wait 2 days before calling a girl you like rule, but I really want to see you again… without friends interrupting our conversation." He reveals.

He does like me. Rose and Alice will never let me hear the end of it

"You noticed that too huh?" I ask.

"Yeah. I thought I'd never get a chance to ask you out. With friends like that, who needs enemies?" he says laughing. I couldn't help but laugh with him.

"It's a good thing I'm such a pro at pool. They never would have left us alone." I add.

"Of course, never underestimate people's fascination with other's humiliation." He says. I can hear him smiling over the phone.

"Well, bad timing or not, I'm glad you asked me." I tell him. "I'm glad I got the courage." He says as he yawns.

"Are you sleepy?"

"No" he lies. "It's just a random thing."

"Bullshit. It's 12 o'clock at night. It's okay that you're tired. I don't think I'm boring you. I'm too interesting for that." I add.

"I'm glad you're not offended" he says, yawning some more.

"Get some sleep." I order. "See you Friday."

"I'm looking forward to it." He says. "Bye"

"Bye" he adds. As I go to hang up the phone I hear "Bella!" through the receiver. "Yes?"

"You looked really beautiful today." "Thank you"

"You welcome. Bye" "Bye"

"Bye" he says as we hang up the phone.

As I go to bed, I put Captain in his room and turn on the alarm system. That was the first night in 10 years I'd dreamt of Edward Cullen.

I wake to the presence of Alice walking in the room… with donuts and coffee.

Yay!

"I love you Alice." I say as I get out the bed and grab a donut for myself and put one in Captain's bowl. " Because you brought me food, I'm not even mad that you woke me up at 8 in the morning."

"I figured so." She smiles. "I finally have you figured out. Food makes everything better."

"Yes. I am that simple." I say as I take a sip of coffee. "What's the order for the day?"

"You have script and dance rehearsals for the show until 4. Then I was thinking you could answer some of your fan mail. You know, autographs and stuff like that. I think it's really cool that you look actually respond."

I've been responding to my own fan mail since I've started. A lot of people in the business just send pictures or get someone to autograph their name for them. I try my best to personalize every response.

"Cool. What time should we leave?" "10:00. It starts at 11"

"Wanna pick out my outfit?" I ask. I've given up any hope of dressing myself once

Alice took control over my shopping.

After I got dressed and had breakfast, it was time to go. As we drove to the studio, I started to feel sad and… scared. Even though I wanted to throw Jessica off of a cliff most days, I still loved the rest of the cast. It would be weird not seeing them. Also, Halfsies was kind of my niche. Now that it was over, I didn't really have anything to fall back on. Would I go back to writing? Would I stick to movies? What if people got tired of me? I started to think about this when we announced the final season, but I never really planned on what I'd do.

This is some heavy shit to think about so early.

"We're here!" Alice announced. "Let's get through this without bloodshed. Okay?" "Yes, Mom" I say with my child voice.

I walked into the studio with a calm attitude. It lasted about two minutes. "Look who's here?" Jessica says as she rolls her eyes.

"Hi Jessica" I say, trying to be polite. "Sustain any injuries today?"

"Suck any cock today?"

"Bitch!"

"Cockbreath!"

We bickered like this for the majority of the rehearsal. Besides that, I had fun with the cast as we did our final rehearsal and choreography lesson for our surprise guest. We laughed and cried as we reminisced about our times together, while Jessica sat in the corner by herself. When we left after practice was over, I felt more at peace. It was really coming to an end.

"I'm hungry." Alice states. "Let's go somewhere nice for lunch."

"Why?" I ask. "I don't like the idea of paying $50 for overrated food that is served to you on a saucer instead of a plate."

"Bella!" she says, shaking her head. "You are so cheap. This is L.A. everything is overpriced. Pleeaase!" she pouts.

Damn that pout

"Fine." I give in. I thought Alice's face would split in half from smiling so widely. "I'll call Rose" she beams as she dials her number.

Rose meets us in front of The Ivy. I grumble at the suggestion. I was outvoted. This is the restaurant where celebrities are inconvenienced by the paparazzi yet they _still_ choose to sit outside. No matter how long I've been, or will be in Hollywood, I'll never understand some things.

We're seated quickly, outside. Alice and Rose order salads. I order a hamburger and two orders of fries. I don't want to embarrass them with my eating habits.

"I can't believe you have lunch at The Ivy and get a hamburger" Rose says.

"I'm sorry that I didn't get anything exotic like a _salad_" I point to her plate.

"Well, at least you only got one entrée" Alice adds. "Progress."

"Not really. I knew it would embarrass you so I didn't do it."

"Thanks" they say as Rose wipes invisible sweat from her brow.

"Rose, how are things with Emmett?" I ask. They seem to really like each other.

"So far, so good." She says smiling. "We're going out on Saturday. How's Texas?"

"Good. We talked a lot over the phone last night." She says, with a far off look on her face. "I'm gonna marry that man. He just doesn't know it yet."

"Way to think big, Alice" I say as I pat her on the back.

"I'm serious, you guys" she says. "I feel it. We met our soul mates yesterday. You'll learn to never to bet against me."

"Okay, okay." Rose says as she takes a bite of her salad. "What about you, Bell?" "We're going out on Friday."

Cue squeal

"What's with the squeal? I don't squeal when I hear your news!" I say as I coddle my damaged ears.

"Because, it's finally happening! That's why" Rose tells me.

"Seriously. What took him so long?" Alice asks. I just shrug my shoulders.

After we finish our insanely expensive lunch, Alice and I end up back at my house. There is a large stack of letters and packages waiting on the table. Over the years, I've received a lot of weird and cool fan mail. It made me happy to see that a person would take time out of their day to support me. I found it surreal at first. I still do.

Off and on for the rest of the day, I spend my time answering mail. I write replies to someone who wrote a funny poem about my clumsiness. I commend him on his humor. Also, I'm taken by a charcoal portrait that someone sent of me. I write a letter thanking them for their time as well as encourage them to pursue their art dream. Always, when I send a reply, I attach a headshot of myself with my autograph, along with a personalized message.

I'm in an extremely good mood when I wake up on Friday. It's not because I have absolutely nothing work related to do. It's not because I had an awesome breakfast. It's because I have a date with Edward today. When I think about it, I couldn't resist the urge to laugh. We'd known of each other for the longest time, yet we'd never really said more than a couple sentences to each other.

Hopefully, it won't be awkward

I spend the whole day stressing over girl stuff like what I should wear, or how I should wear my hair. I feel out of my element.

Then, Alice came over to stress me out even further with her instruments of torture and garment bags. I couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous. The clothes were nice and expensive *shudder*, but I never felt like me. I'm a T shirt and jeans kind of girl. What's so wrong with that?

"Up, down, up, down" Alice repeats to herself as he moves my hair in different directions. She's trying to style my hair.

"Does it matter?" I ask. "If he stares at anything tonight, it's not gonna be my hair." I say as I stick out my chest. Alice starts to laugh.

"Yes. This is the first date. You must look perfect. The perfect first date look is different for everybody. It takes precise skill. It's an art. You should be thanking me," she says sternly.

"Well, thank you Professor for the tutorial." I say in my faux English accent. "Do your worst."

She finally finishes my hair and makeup and proceeds to open the dreaded garment bag.

Oh Hell no!

"Hell no!" I exclaim. "I'm not wearing that. You can't make me." I say as I put my arms across my chest.

"Bella" Alice says calmly. "Put on the damn dress."

"Alice" I repeat her tone. "No. I'm not gonna wear that. It looks too short and too small. I'm not going to be comfortable."

Before me is perhaps, the shortest dress ever to be created. It looks like a leg warmer. It's that small. It's light blue and has a plunging neckline as well as a plethora of straps that interlock in the back in an intricate design. It stops at a little above mid thigh. She matched the dress with nude colored pumps. The shoes were okay, but the dress wasn't. I have an ass. There is no way I could wear that without an ass cheek or boob popping out. I was drawing the line.

"Listen, I know you wouldn't normally wear something like this—"

"I wouldn't wear this to sleep! I'm not joking, Alice. Pick something else."

"But—"

_I'm bossy_

_I'm the first girl to scream on a track_

_I switched up the beat of the drum_

_That's right, I brought all the boys to the yard_

_And that's right, I'm the one that's tattooed on his arm_

"Who's that?" Alice asked as I pick up the phone without reading the caller i.d.

"Hi Mom!" I say as I mouth 'one minute' to Alice as leave the room.

"Bella!" My mom yells into the phone. "Why don't you call? We miss you, Honey."

"Mom, I called you yesterday. Nothing too much has happened since then."

"Really? I'm not too sure about it."

"How so?" I ask. My mom has an amazing bullshit detector. It's scary.

"Well," she says, beginning her tangent. "as I was cleaning up earlier today, I saw this bright flash of orange light. It looked like an aura, Bella I swear. But no one else was in the house. So I thought, 'Who do I know that has an orange aura?' and I thought BELLA! So I made it my mission for the day to call you."

"You made this assumption based on a hallucination you saw when you were high on fumes?" I laugh. She never ceases to amaze me.

"Don't get all smart assey with me young lady. I'll jump through the phone and spank you." She laughs. This was our little joke. She'd tell me that when I was being bad as a kid. I believed it until I was 7.

"Sure you can, Mom" I say politely. "Sorry to disappoint. Nothing here to report." If I told my mom, half the neighborhood would know in an hour. She'd start naming her grandkids.

Better play it safe

"Liar. I guess you'll tell me when you're ready. You've always been a stubborn little girl. You're just like your daddy."

"I heard that!" I hear my dad yell from a distance. He's probably in the living room watching a game.

"I don't care" I hear her laugh as she replies. "Wanna talk to Bella?" she asks.

Ihear the phone pass off.

"Hi Bunny." my daddy says.

"DADDY!" I yell into the phone. I'm such a daddy's girl. It's ridiculous. I love my mom, but my dad and I have a different relationship. He doesn't hover. "I miss you!"

"We miss you too. Your brothers do also."

"They miss torturing me." I laugh.

"That's how they love" he tells me.

"I saw your special. You did well. We're so proud of you Bunny."

"Thank you"

"Are you really going to refuse to tell your mother what you have going on? You get to hang up. I have to share a bed with her." He pleads.

"Sorry dad. I'm refusing to tell mom about my hot date." I say in a sarcastic tone. This always does the trick with my dad. I find it works with others as well. If you tell the truth in a seemingly sarcastic way, they'll think you're being a smartass. That way, if you get in trouble, you can always say that you told them. It's genius.

"Lay off. Will ya?" He laughs. "It's been nice talking to you. You still comin home for Christmas?"

"You betcha!"

"Okay. We're looking forward to it. Here's your mother." I hear the exchange of phones.

"You really aren't going to tell me?" my mom asks, as a final plea.

"There's nothing to tell, Ma" I say. "By the way, trying to get daddy to guilt trip me was a low blow."

"I tried. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. I love you."

"Love you more. Bye bye Bunny."

"Bye" I say as we hang up.

I walk back into the room to find Alice pacing over the room. She notices me walk in.

"Bella, are you sure you don't want to wear the dress?"

"Yes. I'm giving the whole 'designer' thing a try, but I'm not wearing that dress."

"I don't get it" she says as she pulls out a lace blazer and sets it on the bed. It's very cute. "You have a kickass body. I don't get why you hide it."

"That's the reason." I say as I sit down on the bed. "I'm about to bear a piece of my soul. Are you ready?"

"Yeah" she laughs as she sits next to me.

"I know I have a 'hot body'. I don't want that to be what Edward talks to when we go out. It gets annoying when a guy only stares at my chest or scans down my body all pervy when they talk to me. I've had this body since I was 11. I'm self conscious."

"But Edward's different. I know it."

"He might be." I tell her. "But, it still makes me feel uncomfortable. You understand?"

"Yeah," she says. "I never thought of it that way. I'm sorry." She says as she hugs me.

I wondered where her hugs went

"Maybe somewhere down the line I'll be okay with wearing this." I say as I hug her back. "Just… not tonight." I say laughing, bringing up the mood.

"Okay. You've won this round. Not many people can say that." she says with a raised eyebrow.

"I know. What do we have here?" I ask, pointing to my bed.

"Your new, sexy and more modest outfit." She says. The outfit consists of the lace blazer I saw earlier, a v neck ivory t shirt, some blue skinny jeans, complete with the nude pumps she showed me earlier. It was a cute outfit.

"I like it. Good job Alice. Thanks" "You welcome"

I put the outfit and Alice styles it to perfection as she adds jewelry to the outfit. After I'm deemed 'fuckable' by Alice, she leaves to go home. I feed Captain and start to read a book to pass the time. He should be here any minute and I can't stand feeling the seconds go by.

I hear the doorbell and I walk to go get the door. He's wearing a black t shirt that hugs each of his perfect abs as he props himself in my door frame. He has on black jeans that sit just right on his hips. Not too tight. Not too small. Sexy

I want to lick him. Is that weird?

"Hello" he says. "You look very beautiful." He says as he looks into my eyes. "And you look very handsome" I say as I gaze into his.

We just sit there, with me gawking and him standing in my doorway for what seems like forever. Then, I hear my phone buzzing, telling me I had a text message.

**Mom: BULLSHIT! So you have date huh? With who? Christian Bale? PLEASE tell me it's Christian Bale.**

**Mom: Nvmd. He's married. It better not be him...unless he's separated. **

**Mom: No...not even then. **

**Mom: Jake Gyllenhaul is pretty hot. Is it him? **

** Mom: I'm calling your ass tomorrow. I want answers. Don't put out on the first date.- xoxo- Mom.**

**Mom: P.S. For not telling me, I told your grandmother. *sticks out tongue***

This is shaping up to be a wonderful night.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to all of my loyal reviewers as well as those who have added my story on to their alerts. It means bunches to me.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any other Stephanie Meyer work.**

**Ch.8 – Getting to Know You**

**EPOV**

When Bella called me to thank me for the flowers, I was surprised. At least, after I found out she wasn't with the IRS. For the next two days, I agonized over every detail.

I am such a girl. Is this how girls feel every day?

When I told the guys that I'd invited Bella and her friends, they were pretty pissed about it at first. They wanted a "guys day" since everybody has been busy. After I told them they were being assholes, they agreed. I even told Emmett that Rosalie was coming and he seemed more excited than I was.

Nope. Impossible

My nerves disappeared when I saw her and her friends pull in the driveway. Before I could get to the door, Jasper beat me to it. I watched amused as I saw Jasper look completely awestruck at the figure in the doorway. Normally, Jasper is the 'chill' one of the group. He refuses to buy into the whole 'Hollywood' scene. This is why he fit so well into the group. His cool persona is what got the ladies' attention. But Jasper never returned their affection. He always claimed that they weren't his type. For an extended period of time, Emmett and I actually thought he was gay. This is why I found it so funny seeing him act interested in a girl. Wait a minute…

He better not be looking at Bella like that. He did not just flex his muscles. I'll kick his ass…then fire him!

My worries were put as ease when I saw him pull Bella's pixie-like assistant in from the doorway. Now that you mention it, they go together. When I met her, she seemed to go a mile a minute. That would balance out Jasper's chillness… like Speed and Ritalin.

When Bella walked in, I was stunned speechless and motionless by her outfit. On most women, it would have just been a simple tee, vest and shorts, but on her it was perfection. With ample breasts, a tiny waist, gorgeous hips and an ass any mortal woman would pay for, Bella Swan has the perfect Coke bottle shape. Then, I looked at the shoes.

Oh God…those shoes

The heels that went with her outfit sent my mind into a frenzy. The way they made her tone legs look as she walked around asking about a refrigerator shocked me out of my predatory gaze.

Talk to her before she sees you staring at her ass!

I picked my nuts off the floor and decided to talk to her. I was pleased to find out that not much, from what I'd gathered, had changed since high school. She was still the same sexy, down to Earth girl who was slightly too cool for me. And she was in my house eating dinner.

Suck on that bitches!

Over the course of the day, I'd been looking for the perfect time to ask her out. I felt like a teenager again with all of my awkwardness. It seems that every time I tried to a member of the cock block duo would interrupt. When she fell in the kitchen, I thought she'd hurt herself.

Don't throw the shoes away!

The bright side of the ordeal was that I got to see her in her all her pink bikini glory. I couldn't really see because of the cover, but damn did I like it. I seriously thought of bowing at her feet and thanking God for making such a beautiful creature. We played pool instead. Even if I wasn't the best player, I thought I could at least get some alone time with her. Eventually, after an interesting turn of events, I stopped trying to be smooth about it and just asked her. She even checked me on using pool as an excuse to bend her over.

She let me though

After they left, I stressed over any possible date ideas. I even tried to call her, but my sleepy ass was too tired to really do any recon. I ended up being more confused than before. I knew that I couldn't take her to a conventional place. Bella's anything but. Honestly, I was lost. I needed help, so I took a chance and called Rose. After talking to her, I finally came up with an idea. It damn sure wasn't conventional. I was nervous as shit. Knowing what I had planned, it would either end up really well or really poorly.

Let's hope for the best

So now, here I am waiting in my car. I chant "You can do this," and "Don't fuck up" in my head over and over. After my somewhat successful pep talk, I walk up to her front door and ring the doorbell. I take a glimpse around the front of her house and gather that she must be doing well. She has a lovely house.

How much does NBC pay?

She opens the door, looking sexy as ever. Her v neck shows just the right amount of cleavage. That way I don't have to worry about staring. Then, the shoes. I thought the ones from Wednesday were hot. They are this flesh colored high heels with

silver bottoms. Fuck, that's hot!

Do I have a shoe fetish? Maybe

This is actually awesome. She's clumsy as hell. She's gonna fall.

"Hello. You look very beautiful." I tell her once I come back down to Earth. God, she has beautiful eyes

"And you look very handsome" She replies as she blushes.

We sit there in comfortable silence, until her phone buzzes. I notice as she looks at it and shakes her head slightly and rolls her eyes.

Who is texting her?

"It's my Mom" she says while blushing. "She's kinda…intense."

"Well…" I say as I extend my arm. She links her arm through and we make our way to the car.

"Wait!" she shouts. "I left my purse. I'll only be a minute. You can come inside." She says as she makes her way back to the door. I follow her into the entryway.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asks as she checks inside the closet to find her purse.

"No."

"Okay. It must be upstairs. Make yourself at home." She says as she walks down the hallway to go upstairs.

I take the time to look around and feel proud of her. What are the odds that two kids from the same town could make it as big as we have. It's amazing. Her house has the perfect Bella-ness to it. I start to look around and become more amazed. Then, I hear the sound of chains clinking and heavy breathing coming towards me.

What is that sound?

I turn around to see the biggest German Shepherd I'd ever seen in my entire life. It doesn't look happy. Either I'm a dog whisperer, or Bella has the most human acting dog ever. It looks sleepy, so I guess that something must have woken it up. He looks me up and down with a look that says, 'Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing here?'" I'm not sure what to do. This dog looks like it could kill me, so I stand still thinking it will go away. Next thing, the beast walks toward me. I brace myself for impact but it begins to circle around and sniff me instead. He continues to run around smelling every inch of my body until it chooses to jump on its hind legs and pat me up and down with its paws.

What the fuck?

After he's done harassing me, he goes to sit in the corner. "That was weird" I thought a I walk towards the living room until Cujo decides to walk in front of the hallway and cut me off. I walk to the right, in an attempt to get around him. He matches me movement, effectively cutting me off, while giving me a look that says, 'I will bite the shit out of you.'" For fear for my balls, I decide that stepping over him wouldn't be a good idea. We do this routine for two or three minutes. It's kind of funny that Cujo looks like he's doing the doggie version of the running man. We are matched in a battle of wills… at least until I hear Bella laughing.

"Captain…" Bella says in an admonishing tone. "Stop acting tough" she laughs as she ruffles his hair. "I'm sorry about him." She says.

"It's okay" I tell her as I wipe off my jeans. "I've never been held hostage by a dog before." I say laughing. Now that the situation was over, I could see how it was funny.

"Not many have. He's a retired police dog. He was sniffing you for drugs and weapons." She says nonchalantly.

"What?" I laugh. "Was I frisked by a dog?"

"It appears so. He's never met you before so he was checking to see if you were okay. I can't tell you about the whole hallway thing though. That's new." She laughs. "It was probably a cross species pissing contest."

"Who won?" I ask.

"You never finished. I'll say it was a tie." She laughs as we head out the door and make our way to my car.

"Nice car. Audi R8?" She says.

She knows cars! Another reason why Bella is awesome! "Yeah. I just got it." I tell her as I open her car door. "Thank you" she says

"My pleasure."

As I walk towards the door, I got scared. What did I do until we got there? I failed to think that part through. I thought as I get into the car and start the engine.

Shit

"Thanks for coming out tonight. I know it was short notice." I start out.

"It's cool. I know that in this business, you take what personal time you can get. So, thank you for spending time you could be relaxing by yourself with me." She says.

"There's no other place I'd rather be." I say as I grab her hand over the console and start to rub my thumb over her knuckles.

There's that spark again

She looks at our hands and blushes before looking away at the window. We continue to ride in comfortable silence, just holding hands.

"Isn't this whole thing nuts?" she asks as he leans her head back into the headrest. "Did you ever think that -

_I'm bossy_

_I'm the first girl to scream on a track_

_I switched up the beat of the drum_

_That's right i brought all the boys to the yard_

_And that's right, i'm the one that's tattooed on his arm_

"Who is that?" I ask.

"Oh… nothing important. How is the wrap up for your movie going?" She tries to change the subject.

"It's going good. We're discussing reshoo—"

_I'm bossy_

_I'm the first girl to scream on a track_

_I switched up the beat of the drum_

_That's right i brought all the boys to the yard_

_And that's right, i'm the one that's tattooed on his arm_

_I'm bossy_

"I'm soooo sorry" Bella shouts embarrassed, as she puts her phone on vibrate and stuffs it into the glove compartment. "Whoever it is… will wait. Go on." She adds while tilting her head, interested.

"We're discussing when we are going to do some reshoots. I'm thinking probably in the next week or two. There trying to release the movie before the end of the year."

"Ok. Where are we going?" she asks.

"Surprise."

"I don't like surprises" she says with a slight pout. "You'll like this one."

I hope so or this will be the shortest date in history.

"Pleeeaaase, where are we going?"

"Here" I say as a pull into the parking lot of the restaurant. "Here?" she asks.

"Yep" I affirm, popping the p.

Here it is. The moment of truth. She'll either this is ironic and cute, or demand that I take her home. I hope it's the first. When I talked to Rose and she told me some of the things Bella liked, I couldn't believe my luck… or misfortune. Now that you mention it, maybe she was being sarcastic. No one, especially someone as awesome as my Bambi, could be this easily impressed. I shut my eyes violently as I pinch my nose and wonder how I could possibly have fucked up this badly. Being the masochist that I am, I look towards her to see a blank look on her face. She looks at the restaurant. Then, she looks at me. She looks at the restaurant. Then, she looks at me… and smiles.

Thank God

"Hell yeah!" she screams as she reaches for the door. "I fuckin love this place. I haven't been here in forever!" She says as she gets out. I was in too much shock to get out and open the door at first.

"Bella, wait!" I shout before she can reach the door. "Put these on" I say as I hand her a baseball cap and sunglasses. "I want to have as much anonymity as possible." This place didn't exactly have top notch security.

"Okay" she says excitedly as she puts on the cap and shades. "Come on!" she encourages me as we begin to make our way to the entrance. "I'm hungry as he-" she says as she trips over herself and starts to tumble to the ground. I sprint towards her and grab her hips as she's about to fall and pull her back to my chest. Her scent of vanilla hits me like a tidal wave. She smells like laughter and happiness. I hope she didn't hurt herself.

"You okay?" I ask as I turn her around so I can face her.

"Never better" she says as she blushes.

"Some things never change." I laugh.

"These things need training wheels" she says as she points to her shoes.

Don't throw them away!

"I don't think that would help" I laugh as we walk inside. "Mmm… I love the smell of-"

"Hello," the hostess says in a bored tone. "Welcome to IHOP. Party for two?"

"Yeah" I tell her.

"How did you know I like IHOP?" she asks, after the waitress takes our drink order.

"Well, after my failed call to mine you for information on Wednesday, I called Rose and asked her some questions about you."

"Really? What did she tell you?" she asks, looking up at my face to see hear my answer.

"She told me that you had an unhealthy love for breakfast food and were insanely cheap."

"Cheap huh?" she asks as she narrows her eyes.

"No! Not cheap as in slutty. Cheap as in I quote 'acting like spending money will make her tits fall off.'" I say. She starts to laugh.

"Yeah. That sounds like something Rose would say. Good choice. I LOVE pancakes. Besides, the whole 5 star thing with fancy names isn't really my thing." She nods.

"Well, it's one of my things. So next time, we're going somewhere I want." I say as I laugh and put my arm around her. She nestles her head into the crook of my shoulder.

Fuck, she smells good. She needs her own fragrance.

"Next time?" she asks cheekily.

"Stop pretending that you don't like me. Yes. The next time we go out." I joke as I playfully roll my eyes.

"Okay." She smiles as she takes a sip of her orange juice. "I must admit, I never thought in a million years you'd ask me out. You were so cool in high school." She says.

She thought I was cool?

"Really? I was cool? You had the cool market cornered with that bad ass military jacket you'd wear and your quiet stare. You were the mysterious loner. You intimidated the Hell out of me. You were like a one woman John Hughes movie" I add laughing.

"Please. I was not a bad ass. Plus, it was my dad's jacket. It kept me warm. Forks was always cold and wet. I wasn't trying to scare people."

"Then explain the loner bit. I never really saw you hang with anyone."

"You gotta understand where I'm coming from. Forks is a small town. All you guys practically grew up together. When I moved there, I was the shiny new toy. Everyone wanted to know gossip from the source. My dad was in military intelligence. I know when someone is pumping me for information. They pretended to be my friends in order to get some juicy story. When they found out I wasn't going to give them one, they left me alone and made up their own. No one really tried to get to know me."

I saw some validity in her point. I can only imagine how some of the girls in Forks High acted around her. When Bella came to Forks all the guys wanted her, which caused a hate epidemic amongst all the other girls. They spread rumors about her, but Bella never acted like she cared. Maybe she did.

"I'm making up for it now. 20 questions?" I ask as the waitress brings out our food.

"Okay. Shoot."

"Favorite color?"

"Green." She says quickly before darting her eyes down and blushing. Okay. "Yours?"

"Brown." I say. It was at the moment. Bella had the most beautiful brown eyes, like the shade of a nice cup of coffee.

"Favorite snack?" she asks, interested. "It tells a lot about a person." She says as she bends her head to hear my answer.

"Good question" I say as I think about it. "Fiddle Faddle. It's a million times better than Cracker Jacks." I tell her.

"I know." She agrees. "Mine is Cheetos, even though I haven't had them in a long time. I get happy every time I open a bag." She says like she thinking about a happy time.

"Why did you avoid me in high school?" I ask cheekily as she looks up from her plate and stares at me wide eyed.

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"It's complicated." She says as she blushes terribly. She looks completely red.

This must be good. Don't take no for an answer.

"Un complicate it then." I say as I take a bite of my omelet.

" You know how clumsy I am right?" she asks. I nod my head. "Well, whenever I was around you, it seemed to… escalate." I nod my head. "I guess I got tired of embarrassing myself around you." She says as she hung her head. "Crotchgate was the last straw. Do you know that to this day I think I was tripped?"

I remember Crotchgate. I had to jerk off like 8 times when I got home after school. I couldn't get the mental image out of my head.

"Yeah. Stacey Brewer tripped you."

"Bitch" she mumbled. "I thought she did it." She adds. "Well, now I admit that I coul… no should have handled it differently. You're a great guy. I should have sucked it up and made an effort to know you."

"I'm not innocent either. I was scared you didn't like me so I never really tried to get to close to you either. I could have tried harder too." If felt good to get everything out in the open.

"Me? Not like you?" she laughs. "That was the problem. I did like you. Why else do you think I was such a spaz? I thought you didn't like me. I mean, with all the other girls at your feet." She says as she washes down a bite of eggs with orange juice. "I didn't think it was possible for you to like me." She says as she looks down at her plate. I tilt her chin up to look at me.

"It's very possible. If you haven't noticed, you're fuck awesome."

"Aww. Thank you." She says. I hear a little of her Southern accent peaking through.

"You wanna continue the game?" I ask. "Yeah. It's fun."

"Your question." I tell her.

"Okay" she pauses as she starts to think. "What's your favorite Disney movie?" she asks.

"Random" I laugh.

"That's the point" she says. "Plus, the girl over there has on a Disney princess shirt. It inspired me" she giggles.

"Easy. The Lion King." I love that movie. I watch it all the time. "It's the best 90s animated movie.

"Good. If you said one of those Pixar 3D ones, I would have lost a little respect for you." She says laughing.

"Yours?"

"I'd have to say…Bambi" she says causing me to spit out my Coke.

"B-Bambi?" I ask.

"I know it's old, but it holds sentimental value." She says as she blushes. "Why?" I ask. I never knew Bambi was her favorite movie. This is too weird. "You probably don't wanna hear it."

"No. I do. It seems interesting." I had to hear this.

"Okay" she says as she turns to look at me. "Actually, I never saw it until I was 18. Someone got me a really nice gift and just slipped it into my book bag after graduation. I never found out who did it. It was this incredibly beautiful gold Bambi necklace" she says pointing to her neck line, probably without realizing it. " At first,

I thought it was just a gift. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. My mind wouldn't let me."

Gold star for 18 year old Edward

"So, after graduation, my family and I took a trip down home to visit my brothers because they were done with their year. They wanted to rent some movies and I begged them to pick Bambi up from the store. I just had this… urge to see it. When I saw it, I was speechless. I identified with Bambi a lot. You know, being afraid so you distance yourself from things…wanting something you think is impossible to have. Do you know that it's one of the first children's movies to have mankind as the villain? It really shows the evil that humanity is capable of. I find that it's one of those movies that mean much more if you see it again when you're older. It touched me to know that someone could analyze me in that much detail and not really talk to me."

I was stunned speechless by her confession. I had no idea that my gift affected her as much as it had. Hearing her talk about my anonymous gift with such passion and remembrance touched my heart.

"After that, I never took it off. I wore it every day." She says with a sad look on her face.

"What happened?"

"You know my comedy special?" I nod my head. "The bit about when I got mugged and the robber took my necklace?" she asks.

No! That son of a bitch!

"Are you serious?" I ask in a far off tone.

"As a heart attack." She says. "I'm not even sure if it was worth anything, but it meant the world to me. Looking back, I should have just given the asshole my purse." She adds with a dark chuckle.

"The bright side is that you didn't get hurt." I tell her as I rub her arm with my hand.

"That's what they told me" she laughs.

"You do have Bambi eyes though." I tell her. "Bambi eyes?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah" I say as I look into her eyes. "Big…expressive…innocent…" I say as I cup her cheek. I notice her biting her lip as her eyes dart to my lips.

Go for it man! She's giving you the signal!

She looks up at me with those big brown eyes. I feel my heart rate escalate as I lean towards her slightly parted lips as we begin to breath each others air. Her head leans to the side as I feel her long eyelashes ghost across my eye lids. This is it.

After 12 years of longing, I'm finally going to kiss my dream girl. Just a little closer…

"Excuse me!" the waitress says as she comes across the corner. Bella jumps a little, separating us. The waitress must have noticed that she interrupted something important. "Wow…awkward. Here's your bill," She says as she tries to look anywhere but at our faces.

That's right. Look ashamed. SO CLOSE!

"I'm sorry" Bella says as she gathers her purse.

"It's okay" the waitress replies in a sarcastic tone. "I'll wait for you at the register."

"Damn" Bella says as she walks off. "That was rude."

"I guess we lost track of time" I tell her as I put my arm around her waist as we walk to the register to pay. As I pull out my wallet, I notice Bella reaching for her purse.

Is she serious?

"Bella, I'm paying" I say as I stop her hand from reaching inside her purse. "But-"

"It's our first date. I'm paying. You're cutting my balls off here." I laugh as she blushes and puts her hand away.

"Okay." She says.

"Cheap asshole." I hear the cashier/waitress/bitch mumble as I pay the bill.

"I think it's cute." She whispers in my ear as the bitch who won't get a tip hands me my change.

"Then she's cheap too." I hear her mumble again as she begins wiping the table. "Excuse me?" Bella says as she widens her stance slightly.

"Nothing." The bitch replies as she rolls her eyes.

"Oh. Have a nice night." Bella says as we start to walk out the door.

She's such a lady. I'm pretty sure Rose would have hopped over the counter by now.

"You too. Make sure you don't stay so long next time. People have other things to do." She says in a clipped tone.

Bella stops walking which in turn makes me halt as well. I hear Bella take in a deep breath as she turns her head to look at me. She takes off the cap I gave her and raises an eyebrow as if she's asking permission. I laugh in response. "What the Hell" I think as I take my hat off and turn around with her.

"Well… Melissa" Bella says as she reads the bitch's nametag. She slowly takes the sunglasses off and I follow her lead. She shakes her hair for effect. Melissa looks at me, then at Bella. "We'll be sure to do that. Won't we, Edward?"

"Yep" I reply. Melissa gasps as she looks at me. Bella puts her finger over her lips as she makes a "Shhh" sound as we walk out the door.

As we start walking back to the car, Bella and I start laughing hysterically. "Wow. That shit was funny. Did you see her face?" I ask.

"I know. Normally, I don't pull the celebrity card. But, she was sooo rude. You saw how quick she clammed up when she found out it was us. Some people…" she says as she quiets down.

"I must say, this has been an awesome date." "It sure has" she agrees.

Over the quick ride home, we continue our game of 20 question and talk about everything and nothing. Ever answer and fact I find out about this woman makes me fall for her more and more. She's perfect. I still can't believe she went out with me.

I feel the evening coming to an end when I pull up to Bella driveway. I hear Bella try to unlock her door. Again.

"Bella. Let me open the door for you. Don't make me put the child locks on." I joke, causing her to roll her eyes. I run around to open her door for you.

"Thank you. You're such a gentlemen" she compliments as she steps out of the car. We walk in comfortable silence until we reach the door.

"This was really nice and unexpected. I had a nice time." She says.

I can't take it anymore. I slowly walk towards her as she looks into my eyes. I watch as her eyes stare into mine as she begins to lick her lips in anticipation. She takes a step towards me… and trips, hitting her head on the door knocker.

"Ouch!" she yells.

Fuck. Me.

"Are you okay?" I ask her as she cradles her head.

"I-I'm okay" she says as she looks at the ground. "I just need to put some ice on it" she says as she opens her door. "I really had a nice time" she tells me as she steps inside.

"Yeah. We'll do it again sometime." I tell her in a daze and she shuts the door. I walk back to my car and think about what just happened. How did this happen… twice? God has a weird sense of humor. As I sit in my car, I think about everything that happened and the things I have learned about my Bambi. It's hard to believe that it took us almost 12 years to admit that we like each other. I'm forced back to Earth by a buzzing noise. "What is that?" I say as I look at my phone and realize that Bella left her phone in my glove compartment. I walk back to her door and ring the doorbell. When she answers she's wearing nothing but a t shirt and slippers. She has an icepack in one hand, holding it to her head, with an insanely big chocolate chip cookie in the other. There is a smudge of chocolate on her bottom lip. She's never looked more beautiful.

"H-Hey Edward" she says as she blushes. "Do you need something?" she asks. "You left your phone." I tell her as she puts down her cookie to take her phone

back.

"Thank you"

I turn around to go back to my car. Then I realized something.

"Actually, I need something." I tell her as I step inside. "Let me try one thing." I say as I stalk towards her, while refusing to break eye contact. She gasps as she drops her ice pack, but doesn't bend to pick it up. I continue my quest until I noticed that Bella and I are backed into a corner in her entryway. I run my hand along her neck and feel her heartbeat quicken as my thumb passes the pulse point on her neck. I bend my head and place a gentle kiss there, causing her to gasp as my lips continue their journey to her cheek and finally her lips. I stop my quest as I take a step back to look at her face. Her eyes are hooded as she looks into my eyes with an unparalleled intensity. In a turn of events, she takes a step to close in one me and threads her fingers through my hair. I mimic her sentiment, making us one movement away from what I know we both desire. I ghost my lips over hers, declaring my intention and I gently place a kiss on her lips, effectively smearing the chocolate smudge further. I hear her breathing stop.

"Breath, Bella" I say.

"I-I'm trying" she whispers.

I slightly lean my head back and look into her eyes as I run my finger to place a stray piece of hair behind her ear as I stare into her big brown eyes as I mold my lips to hers once more. She accepts my invitation and she sucks my bottom lip into her mouth. Pressing my luck, I run my tongue along her lips, cleaning her lip of the offending chocolate, only to be granted acceptance again as I feel her tongue meet mine as we begin to battle each other for dominance. I gather strength as grab her perfectly round ass to lift her legs up as she wraps them around my waist as our mouths continue to taste each other's sweetness. "Mmmm" I hear as her moan vibrates through my mouth causing my hips to involuntarily thrust against hers. "Oh," she whimpers as she breaks contact with my lips and lifts her head, exposing her neck as her hips begin to meet my thrusts while I continue my assault on her neck.

Licking. Sucking. Thrusting. Moaning. Lusting.

We stay in this passionate lock for God knows how long. Finally, Captain decided he'd seen enough and decided to intervene by circling around us and jumping at Bella.

"I guess I'm being thrown out huh?" I ask as I bend my head back to look at her. Her lips are swollen, but it pales in comparison to the blush that now occupies her face.

"Only if you think of it that way. Captain has to go to the bathroom." She says as I put her down. "That was… interesting" she adds as she runs her fingers over my lips while she licks her own. Captain decides to get irate as he begins to starts barking and trying to pull Bella out to the back.

"I'll call you later." I say as I place another small kiss on her lips. "Okay" she smiles. "I'll answer."

I laugh as I kiss the little bump that is forming on her forehead. "Bye" I say as I turn to leave. It physically hurts. "How could I feel so much for someone after one date? Even if it was an awesome one?" I think to myself as I make my way out to my car. Again.

As I make it to my door, I hear the sound of crunching gravel. "Wait!" I hear Bella say as she runs out to meet me in the driveway. "Listen, in the 20 seconds that have passed since you walked out my door, I've realized something. I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore."

She feels it too?

"Then don't" I say in all honesty. We'd waited 12 years. I was tired of waiting.

"I don't plan on it" she smiles as she gives me a small peck on the lips. It wasn't a lusty one like the one we'd shared previously. It was more of a promise of things to come. She turns to walk back into her house.

"Bella?" I ask, causing her to turn around. "I know we've only gone out on one date, but will you be my girlfriend?" I ask. I hope I'm not rushing anything. I'd understand if she wanted to wait.

"Yes." She smiles, flashing her gorgeous teeth.

"Well… I should go. For real this time." I laugh. "Bye, girlfriend"

"Bye, boyfriend." she tells me as she begins to step backwards towards her door. As I finally pulled out of her driveway, I realized that I was falling in love with Bella Swan.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch.9- The End of an Era

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any other Stephanie Meyer work. Only this plot is my own.

After Edward and my date yesterday, I went to bed a little happier than before. You put me on stage, and the nerves will fade after a while. Put me in front of Edward Cullen, and it's nerves the whole night. I can't remember the last time I was so nervous. At least, he seemed as nervous as I was. Besides my mother calling

every two minutes the first half hour, the date was perfect. Any normal celebrity female probably would have shit a brick if their date took them to IHOP. I could have pissed myself from sheer happiness. I loved it. It's my favorite place in the world. Edward did good. I'll have to thank Rose as well.

Then the kiss.

Oh GOD!

It's official. Edward Cullen is perfect. I have never in my life been kissed with so much passion. Ever. It's a good thing Captain had to go to the bathroom when he did. I would have made a real slut out of myself. I was two growls away from ripping his pants off. That would have been too soon.

Thank God for small miracles

All things aside, I loved how it was so easy to talk to Edward and get everything out in the open. To be honest, in the few relationships I've been involved in, I've never kissed a guy on the first date. Even if I did, I never would have followed it up with a hardcore dry humping session. I found myself out of my element. I loved every second of it. At that moment, I realized that I wanted to stop running and

wanting and go after what I wanted. I realized that I was falling for Edward Cullen. I wasn't going to fight it. Maybe I'd felt this way the whole time and was too scared to admit it.

Before I could bask in my good date glow any further, Alice bursts through the door and jumps sideways, landing on the bed. She puts both of her hands under her chin and cocks her head to the side.

"You look like you're posing for an elementary school picture." I tell her as I shift my legs up so she isn't squishing me.

"You look happy this morning." She tells me as she switches to sitting on her legs. "Anything steamy to report?"

"Depends on what you call steamy."

"You're gonna make me ask aren't you?" she asks, shaking her head.

"Ask me what?" I ask. I'm really lost.

"She's asking if you fucked Cullen." Rose says as she enters through the room with a bag of bagels and muffins.

"What?" I shout. "You think I'd sleep with him on the first date?" I almost did… but still. I don't want them thinking I'm a whore.

"Rose does," Alice answers calmly.

"Bella… 12 years. 12 long years of lust and desire. And stupidity. Of course I thought you'd sleep with him." Rose adds as she takes a bite of her bagel and sits down in a chair by my bed.

"And I said that you wouldn't because even though 12 years is a long time, you two haven't gotten to know each other long enough." Alice says with a cheeky grin as she turns to Rose. "Pay up Bitch. 20 big ones."

"Fuck!" Rose says as she hands the pixie her money.

" I can't believe you guys are betting on my sex life." I say as I turn over in an attempt to tune them out and get more sleep.

I love sleep

"Or lack thereof in this case." Rose says.

"Well sorry girls," I say as I turn over to face them. "I'm an upstanding lady." I add as I finally raise up in the bed and stretch my arms. This action causes Rose and Alice to laugh uncontrollably.

"What?" I ask confused.

"Upstanding lady my ass!" Rose shouts as she's laughing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I say as I cross my arms and turn my head.

"OH MY GOD!" Alice says as she points at me, still laughing.

"Are you guys gonna tell me what the fuck is so funny?" I ask indignantly. "If I'm gonna be laughed at, I at least want to know why."

"You don't know?" Rose asks in disbelief.

"One hickey. Two hickey. Three hickey…" Alice sings. "WHORE!" Rose shouts as she points at me. "Seriously. You have 2 hickies on your neck."

"Oh…" I say softly as I leave my bed to go look in the mirror.

There they are. 2 noticeable hickies along my neck. To be honest, I didn't give a shit. They were Edward Cullen hickies. I wasn't going to be ungrateful. As I run my fingers over the bruised spots on my neck, I couldn't help but remember our random, yet sexy as Hell, make out session in my entryway. I smiled.

"Wow." Rose says as she walks up behind me. "Did he try to have you for dinner?"

"You like a Dalmatian." Alice says as she reads a magazine on top of my bed.

"Shut up. Whatever me and my boyfriend do is none of your business." I laugh.

Ihad immediate regret.

"AHHHHHHHH!" They screamed as they crowded around me and bombarding me with questions.

I should have known they'd do that.

"Slow down guys." I say as I coddle my eardrums. "Where did you guys go?" Alice asks.

"IHOP" I say nonchalantly.

"WHAT?" she responds irately. "Tell me you're joking."

"No. He took me to IHOP and it was awesome. I love breakfast food. You know that. It was thoughtful. Thanks Rose." I add.

"Don't blame that one on me. I just said that you like breakfast and were cheap. I didn't know he'd take it literally." Rose says with a far off tone.

"Well, I liked it. Isn't that all that matters?"

"I guess so." They say.

After they got over the initial shock of the restaurant of choice, I told them about the rest of our date. They aww'd in the appropriate places, laughed when they heard about me hitting me head, and 'oohed' as I recalled what happened after he dropped me off at my house.

"Wow" Alice says. "All things considered, that was a good date."

"Yeah. Very you." Rose adds.

"Moving on…" I say, changing the subject. "What's on the agenda?"

"Well, I came to talk to you about some of the offers you'd been receiving. They're knocking down your door." Rose says.

"What kind?"

"It's a mixed bag."

Then, she started to describe the movies I was being offered.

One was called Anyone But You. It was a comedy about a couple who were getting a divorce. As they were on a plane to tell their family, the plane crashes and the get stuck on a desert island and have to live with each other. It sounded promising.

Another was called Digital Girls. The premise is about a famous girl pop group who reunites for a comeback tour. The problem is, they all hate each other. So, the record label hires a den mother to keep the girls in line so they won't be at each other's throats and fuck up the tour. It would be like a fake documentary. This had potential. It would probably have a funny soundtrack.

You Don't Understand was about a free spirit who finds a baby on her doorstep the day she gets home from work. Everyone thinks that the baby is actually hers. Then, she falls in love with her boss-who happens to be a billionaire. So then, everyone thinks that the baby is his. To be honest, I would have considered that a couple of years ago. Now, the baby movie thing is getting annoying. I made a definite pass.

One that caught my eye was called, Making a Man. There wasn't a script for it. The only thing we knew was that it was based on a journal written by an adolescent boy into young adulthood as he stayed with various family members after his mother is sent to prison in the 60s'. It seemed a little intense. I wondered why they contacted me about it. I made a mental note to read the book.

After Rose and I discussed all of the offers, I told her that I'd think over it and get back to her. Now, I had to call my mother.

God, help me!

I gather my phone and find out that I have 12 missed called and several mixed texts.

**Mom: Why aren't you answering? You better not be having sex! Wait until the 3rd date at least. Don't be a whore!**

**Dad: Please call your mother. I haven't slept all night.**

**Gran: WTF? Call your damn mother. She even called me. She MUST be desperate.**

**When did Gran learn how to text? She knows what WTF means? She's one savvy old lady!**

**David: Mom told me that you had a date with Jake Gyllenhaul. Is it true? Details Bitch!**

**Daniel: Who are you dating? I doubt Jake G is your type. BTW…. CALL MOM!**

**Mom: God damn it Bella. What's the point of having a cell phone if you don't answer it?**

**David: For the love of cock, PLEASE CALL MOM! It's 3 in the fucking morning. Stop making us all suffer!**

**Gran: That's it. I'm spanking you the next time I see you. Call your fucking mother!**

**Dad: If you love us at all… PLEASE call your mother.**

Ouch!

I reply to all of the texts, expressing my deepest apologies. I'm not going to hear the end of this for a long time. I called my mom. It only rang once.

"Finally." She said, indignantly. "Sorry mom. I—"

"Do you know how worried I was? I thought you were dead. Wanna know why? Because the ONLY way someone wouldn't return SIX phone calls and TWO texts in

2010 would be if they were DEAD. I was checking the internet for news about your death!"

So theatrical

"I said I was sorry." I say quietly. "We got in late. No. I didn't sleep with him. I know you're gonna ask me. I was tired, so I went to bed. I didn't mean to make you worry."

"Have we met? You should have called." She said softly.

"There is a 3 hour time difference. I didn't think you'd be up that long to wait."

"Valid point." That's the thing I love about mom. She's not afraid to admit when she's wrong. "So… who is he?"

"MOM!" I shout. "I'm not going to tell you. At least not for a week or two. Let it be new to me for a while please?"

"Fine." She huffs. "You can't hold me off forever you know that?"

"I know." I wanted my relationship with Edward to just be between us for as long as possible. After all these years, we just got together. I wanted this to be ours, at least for a while. Once the public found out, I was afraid our privacy would diminish.

I should talk to him about this

"I gotta go. Thanks. For nothing," she adds with a small laugh.

"You're welcome." I laugh in return.

"Smart ass."

"I learned from the best." I counter. "Bye Bunny."

"Bye Mom." I say as I hang up the phone.

That wasn't as bad as I anticipated.

After the call, I took a shower and got ready for my day while Alice and Rose waited downstairs. As I was putting on my clothes I got a phone call from Edward.

Yay!

"Hey, boyfriend."

"Hey, girlfriend." He says with a small laugh. God I love that laugh.

Love?

"What's up?" I ask.

"I just wanted to hear your voice. I'm getting used to it." He says quietly.

How sweet. Who thinks of shit like that?

"Aww" I say as I blush.

"I can hear you blushing" he tells me as he laughs.

"Shut up. It's just so… sweet. I must say that I'm quite fond of you as well." I reply, still blushing.

"I miss you. I know it hasn't been a day. But, I miss you." He says.

He feels it too

"I feel the exact same way. I miss you too. It's good to know that I'm not alone in this." I tell him.

"Ditto" It's like I can hear him smiling.

"What are you doing today?" I ask. I want to see him.

"Nothing but work, I'm afraid. I have a couple of meetings and I'm thinking about starting this new project," he tells me. "I won't be done until about 11 tonight. Sorry."

"It's okay." I tell him, even though I'm a little disappointed. "It's the business. I understand."

"I had to get my Bella fix before I started my day."

"Well, I'm glad to give you your dosage. Although, I do think Cullen Crack might be slightly more addictive. But, to each his own." I flirt.

"Depends on the junkie" he retorts. "God, I don't wanna get off the phone." "I don't want you too either."

We remain on the phone, not saying a word to each other. Hearing him breath is satisfying enough.

"Oh God" he laughs. "We're gonna play the 'you hang up game' aren't we?" "I'm afraid so."

"On three" he says. "One. Two…"

"Damn it. Edward!" I yell into the phone. "You didn't hang up either." He laughs.

"Okay. One…Two…" I say.

"Hypocrite" he laughs. "Shut up."

"One…Two…Three" we both say into the phone. "Hang up" we add in unison. "Only if we do it at the same time." I say. "For real."

"Okay." He agrees. "One. Two…" he says as I regretfully hang up the phone. God.

I feel like I'm in high school again.

My phone buzzes.

**Edward: You hung up first**

**Me: CHEATER!**

**Edward: I'll call you tonight. Me: You better.**

I open my door, only to be hit my Rose and Alice's falling bodies. "Eavesdroppers!" I stage yell.

I'm so embarrassed

"That was sooo sweet!" Alice says as she gets off the floor. "You are sooo in love. After only one date. What did I say before? Don't bet against me."

"Whatever" I say, hoping she'll drop the subject.

"It's true." Rose says as she looks at me. "I've never seen you so… I can't explain it. It looks good on you. Whatever it is." She smiles.

"I feel different. I feel good. I really like him, guys." "I know." Alice says. "It'll turn out great. You'll see."

That's how the rest of the week went. The girls would tease me about Edward. My mom would call and try to pry information out of me. Then Edward would call and we'd talk or we'd go over each other's house to hang out. Besides a couple of appearances around town to promote the finale of the t.v. show, I'd had a pretty low key week. I appreciated the reprieve. I knew it wouldn't last long.

Today is Thursday. The end of an era. Throughout the day, they'd shown a marathon of the greatest episodes and I actually sat back and watched some. It took me back to when I was younger and I felt a small sense of nostalgia. But things change. And so do people. I would miss the show. I would. But, I wouldn't miss some of the people there.

As I enter the studio, I meet anxious, happy, and sad faces. I feel the same emotions within myself. I'm taken backstage for a final run through, then to get my hair and makeup done. After I'm done, Rose and Alice meet up with me.

"Nervous?" Rose asks.

"Not really. As long as I don't bust my ass, I'll be thankful." I chuckle as I sit down. "No worries. You know it like the back of your hand." Alice says as she pats me on

the back.

We make our way backstage and I'm greeted with a surprise.

"Edward!" I yell. "I didn't know if you were going to make it." I was so excited. "Please" he shrugs. "I wasn't going to miss this… my girlfriends last episode." He

whispers the last part. I was pleased to learn that we were on the same page about

not going public with our relationship just yet. Turns out, Edward doesn't like to share either.

"Thank you for doing this. It means a lot. You didn't have to." I say.

"Anything for you. It's nothing." He shrugs and puts his arm around me and kisses my hair.

"Where did you come from?" I ask, with a sense of wonder. "How do you always know what to say?"

"It's a gift." He smiles. "Smart ass."

"Your smart ass" he replies.

The four of us go back stage and sit with the rest of the cast and crew.

I stand by the snack table, trying to decide what type of sandwich I wanted. Eventually, I settle for one ham and one turnkey. I couldn't decide. Before I could take a bite of my sandwich, I hear Jessica squeal as she recognizes Edward. It's far less appealing than Alice and Rose's.

She must be in heat

"Oh my God!" Jessica says, as she walks over to Edward. "Edward Cullen!" she screams. "I like worship you." She adds, in what I guess was supposed to be a seductive tone. "I didn't know you were a fan!" she says as she sits down… next to him.

She did not just poke her chest out

Edward takes a quick look at me and replies. "I… uh…watch it every week," he says as he nonchalantly scoots away.

He better scoot away

"Not that I'm nosy or anything…" she says, as she scoots closer to make up for the lost space. Edward is practically sitting on the arm of the couch. "How did you get here? You know such a big…huge…celebrity like yourself must have something else to do besides our little show here," she moans. It didn't escape me that she was practically shoving her tits in his face.

I was surprised when Edward actually agreed to be one of the guests on the finale. I originally brought it up as a joke. Then he actually expressed an actual interest. It all worked out perfectly. I was excited.

As I look at the scene unfold in front of me, I realize that everyone backstage is looking at Jessica and Edward-not saying anything. Alice and Rose are looking between me and Jessica. Alice is mouthing, 'What the fuck?' while Rose is miming and pretending to punch Alice in the eye before finally mouthing, 'Do something!"

"Actually," I interrupt as I make my way over to the couch and sit next to Jessica. "we were talking one day and I joked about it and it kinda snowballed from there." I say as I turn around to face her. Edward raised his eyebrow.

"You…know him?" she asks in disbelief as she points between Edward and me.

Bitch, what are you trying to say?

"Yeah." I answer. "We went to high school together." I say.

"Oh" she says as she turns to Edward. "That's interesting. You didn't like… date her did you?" she asked Edward as she points to me with a sense of horror and amusement.

"No" we say in unison.

"Ok" she laughs. "You had me scared for a minute. Well, back to what we were saying before, it is such a pleasure to have you here. Is there anything I can do to thank you on a more…personal level?" she asks. I hear Alice gasp but she hides it as a cough.

Oh no she didn't!

"You can go… and get me a…Coke," Edward says.

Take that bitch!

Jessica doesn't catch Edward's sarcasm and practically sprints to the table-which was right by Edward- and gets him a bottle of Coke and hands it to him. She

scoots-the back way showing her ass- and sits down, practically on his lap.

I began to pray silently.

_Dear Lord,_

_I know that I am not perfect. I tend to fly off the handle sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes. Thank you for giving me the strength to make it 6 years without killing Jessica. However, the sight of her throwing herself at my boyfriend is making my resolve dwindle. Help me. Please let us all end this show on a good note. Oh, and thank you for sending Edward back into my life. He's pretty perfect. I can't wait to see what your plan is with that. Amen._

"Sooo…" the bitch says as she bats her eyelashes and smiles at Edward. "I was wondering if you'd want to…" as she goes to whisper in his ear…

"LADIES!" the producer yells as he comes into the room, scaring Jessica. Edward jumps to and cradles his ear from Jessica's bark. "Get into positions"

Thanks Lord

As we head to the stage, I see Theresa walking next to me. "Wow. So you and Cullen?" she asks.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I smile and continue walking. She raises her eyebrow. "That obvious?"

"Not really. People were too busy staring at Edward to notice. Don't worry. I won't tell anybody. You guys look good together." She laughs before finishing, "for a second there, I thought I was going to have to pull you off of Jessica… again!" she adds with another chuckle.

I'm never gonna live that down

"You know we're forbidden to talk about that? Gag order?"

The show is filled with flashbacks of past episodes as Samantha, who is played by Theresa, is finally getting married. The day before the wedding, Michelle and Natalie (played by me and Jessica) get in a fight and knock red wine on the dress and have to get it dry cleaned without telling anyone. However, once we drop the dress off, the owner goes out of town so the dress is stuck at the cleaners. This forces our characters to break into the dry cleaners to rescue the dress, only to get arrested in the process. They spend the night in jail. Natalie (my character) saves the day by calling 'Big Daddy,' her mysterious rich boyfriend to bail them out of jail.

The whole series, Natalie has been dating this mystery man. You've never seen his face, only the back of his body and a hat.

You think the problem is solved, only to find out that during the chaos with the dress, Natalie forgot to confirm the DJ so there will be no music at the reception. As a result, Natalie and Michelle, after trying every option they could think of, finally decide to come clean and tell Samantha everything that is going on. As they are going to the back to notify Samantha, Stewart the geeky limo driver who is obsessed with Michelle comes to the wedding on a break from his job to wish the happy

couple congratulations… and to express his undying love for Michelle…again. Then out of nowhere, it turns out that a celebrity by the name of Beyonce comes into the reception claiming that Stewart left her in the limo for an hour and wants to know what's going on. Samantha sees Beyonce and thinks that she is a surprise performer at the reception. After heavy convincing (and a hefty bribe) Beyonce performs and Samantha, Michelle and Natalie jump on stage with her and start dancing the choreography to one of the songs.

This leads us to the last scene.

**Michelle: Wow, sis. (hugs Samantha) You guys finally made it to the alter. Samantha: I know right. I was sure that you guys would do something to mess it**

**up, but I guess I was wrong. The audience laughs.**

**Natalie: Where is your faith Samantha? I am hurt.(dramatic). And angry…and…hurt.**

**Michelle: Yeah. You act like we'd ruin your wedding dress or something. (laughs sarcastically)**

**Samantha: Worse things have happened. (raises eyebrow). Michelle and Natalie: True (nodding heads in agreement.)**

**Natalie: All jokes aside, you look really beautiful. I'm so happy that PatPat got his head out of his ass. (says lightheartedly) The audience laughs.**

**Samantha: I know that's right. I never thought it would happen. You guys did such a good job. I'll never forget this.**

**Natalie: Now all we have to do is get Michelle and Stewart married. The audience laughs.**

**Michelle: Please. I'm thinking you and Big Daddy. (says with a mysterious tone). Samantha: Who is that guy? After 8 years, I still haven't seen him. Is he Batman?**

(The audience laughs)

**Natalie: Shut up. It's none of your beeswax. Besides, I'm perfectly content with living in sin…lusty, hot, toe- curling, tantric sin. (says with a far off voice). The audience laughs.**

**Michelle: Eww!(childlike voice) Stop iiiit! That's gross!**

**Samantha: Speak for yourself. I'm gonna get me some of that tonight. (laughter) Which makes me think, 'Why the Hell am I still here talking to you two?' I gotta go. Pat is waiting. (both girls and the audience sigh).**

**Michelle and Natalie: (hug Samatha) Bye!**

**Samantha: (looks back, blows a kiss and waves) I love you. She leaves the bar. Michelle: (turns to Natalie) Wow. It's the end of an era isn't it?**

**Natalie: Yeah. I might actually get a job. (Michelle gives Natalie a long look of disbelief and pride) NOPE! (Natalie starts to laugh) I can't even keep a straight face and say it.**

**Michelle: "I guess some things won't change. Free loader!" (The audience chuckles) "It's late. I should probably go." (she hugs Natalie) "Bye. I'll talk to you later."**

**Natalie: You don't have a choice. You think I don't know you borrowed my new****Gucci boots?**

**Michelle nods her head and laughs. Natalie: Bye**

**Michelle: Bye**

**Michelle leaves the bar**

**Natalie: (to herself) "And then there was one." (she walks over to the bar and orders a drink) "Well… It's hammer time." (throws back a shot). The audience laughs.**

**Natalie gets up from the bar and starts to walk out to come face to face with a faceless man in a blue suit holding a red rose.**

**Natalie: Baaaaby!(walks over to him and hugs him) You made it. You're late and you missed it, but you made it. Baby steps, Honey! (she pats him on the chest the audience giggles) Thank you for coming( she smiles and kisses his cheek as they begin to sway to the music) It meant a lot to me. I know you're busy.(the man in the suit lowers is head to whisper in her ear Natalie starts to giggle) No. No way I'm doing that… again. Baby… that was one time. Really? You can do that? Impossible. Maybe you can show me later (says seductively)**

Then Big Daddy eases his hands down my back and grabs my ass. Then he smacks it. The audience howls.

That was not in the script

**Natalie: Behave (she playfully hits him) People can see us. Save it for later. (Big Daddy continues to whisper in Natalie's ear. She starts to giggle…then she stops at look at Big Daddy) Well, when you ask like that… OKAY! (Natalie wraps her legs around Big Daddy's waist and he runs off stage) The audience howls and laughs.**

**After a long silence Big Daddy walks back into the bar, looks outside . He turns around.**

**Big Daddy: Can I buy a bottle of Grey Goose? Bartender: Sure.**

**Bartender takes the money and hands over the bottle.**

**Big Daddy: Thanks (he takes off his hat and turns around.) It's gonna be a loooong night. (he walks out of the bar)**

I can hear the audience go crazy from backstage when they find out that Edward is Big Daddy. It just felt right. Originally, they weren't going to show Big Daddy's face. But when I told them Edward was interested, they added him in. He fit perfectly.

Edward walks backstage and I am the first to greet him.

"You were so good, Babe" I say as he puts his arm on my waist.

"Thanks. It was fun." He says as leans closer to me. "Thanks for sharing this with me."

"Thanks for wanting to be a part of this." I say as I hug him. "By the way" I add as

I punch his arm.

"Ouch" he laughs. "What was that for?"

"You know what. I can't believe you felt me up on national television." "You loved it."

My only response was to blush. I did love it… a little too much.

"Busted" he laughs as he runs a hand across my cheek. "The blush tells all."

"Shut up" I say as we enter into the backstage area.

As soon as we enter the room, Jessica is at Edward's side clinging to his arm.

This bitch is gonna be a problem

"O.M.G! You were sooo good, Edward. Is there anything that isn't hard for you?" she says as she presses her silicone boobs against Edward's arm.

"Did you guys hear a squeaking noise?" I ask innocently, causing Alice and Rose to laugh. Edward face turns red, but he doesn't laugh.

"Uh…no" Jessica says in a 'duh' tone. "She's so weird. I don't see how you two are friends," she fails to whisper properly in Edward's ear. "Anyway, there is a wrap party downtown at Vortex (made up name). I'm sure we'd all love it if you stopped by. I mean… I would," she tells him as she puts one of her disgusting tramp fingers in her mouth.

The collar on my shirt gets mysteriously tight as I mess with my clothes to occupy my hands so I don't wrap them around this skank's neck.

Idle hands are the devil's playground

"Yeah. Bella told me about it. We'll be there. I'll stop by," he tells her as he sneaks a peek at me through his eye.

"I was hoping…" Jessica started, "that when—"

"I gotta go." Edward interrupted her. "I have to take care of some business. It's…

pretty… urgent." He says as he makes his way to the door.

Damn it! She scared Edward away. Bitch.

He spends a couple minutes signing autographs and taking pictures. He gives Theresa and that bitch a hug. He made sure to put some distance between him and Jessica. He walks over and gives me a hug, rubbing down my back and 'accidently' grazing my ass. I take this short time to catalogue his smell of cinnamon and ginger into my brain. Fuck, he smells sexy.

What. A. Man

"See you later," he whispers in my ear. "You look so beautiful tonight."

"God. I wanna kiss you so bad right now." I whisper to him and laugh as he pulls away.

"Later" he says to the room. I know what he really meant.

He walks out of the room and away from me. Even though I know he'll be back, it hurts to be away from him for the shortest time. "Damn, I've got it bad." I think as I stare at the door.

I think I love him

Is it too soon?

Jessica's wail pulls me out of my thoughts as I turn around to see her dramatically fall on the couch.

"Oh my God! Did you guys see that? He was so checking me out," she gloats to anyone who listens. I can't fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Right Bitch. He was checking for an emergency exit.

"Please." She laughs at me. She must have seen my open display of disgust. "Like you have a chance. "

That hurt. Even in high school, I always felt that Edward was too good for me. Honestly, I still do. I confided this in the girls when we discussed our relationship. Hearing it from someone else stung. I'm not going to lie and say that it didn't. That's one of the reasons why I want our relationship private. I'm scared of what people would say. I'm afraid he'll realize the 12 year wait isn't worth it.

"He's so far out of your league, he's in a different sport. Let's leave the Edward Cullens of the world for women like me okay," she finishes as she gathers her things and heads for the door. "I am sooo hittin' that tonight," she tells me as she leaves.

Not if I hit you first

"What the Hell?" Theresa says. "She's such a bitch. Stevie Wonder could see that

Edward doesn't want her." She adds as she pats my back.

"I can't believe she said that" Alice adds as she goes to hug me. "You know she's lying. Right Bella?" she asks as she looks up at me.

I shrug my answer. "It's okay" I smile. I can tell it doesn't reach my eyes. "I'm not going to cry over this bitch. I haven't in 8 years and I won't start now." I say somberly.

Even though I want to

"You're a class act, Bella." Rose tells me. "I would have knocked that bitch out before the show started. They would have shot my scenes from real jail." She adds with a light laugh.

"Aww Rose," I say. "always brightening my day with the threat of violence." I finish with a straight face.

"Cheer up!" Alice says. "We have a party to get ready for."

"Yeah." Rose agrees. "Let's make Edward remember why he loves you so much." She laughs.

"Pissing Jessica off will be a bonus." Theresa adds with a laugh. "Okay." I shrug and laugh as Rose and Alice high five each other.

"This is gonna be so great. She's not even fighting." Alice laughs as she rubs her hands together.

"Fine. Slut me up Scotty!" I say in my best Scott accent.

"With pleasure." Rose says as she wipes a fake tear off of her face.

This is going to be an interesting night.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any other Stephanie Meyer work. Only the plot of this story is my own.**

**Ch.10-MINE!**

**EPOV (You guys love him!)**

Guess what? I'm dating Bella Swan. Bella Swan is my girlfriend.

Fuck yes!

After I got home from my date with Bella, I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. I loved how cool and honest we were with each other. The way she smiled at me when I asked her to be my girlfriend. Priceless. I'll never forget it.

Ever!

Did I ever really stop loving her? I wondered. I mean, most people wouldn't be this far gone after one date. I decided to let it go and just see what happened. After I got home, I went straight to bed where Bella headlined my fantasies like she has for the past decade.

I woke up the next day with a new sense of self. I couldn't explain it. It felt good to know she liked me too for as long as I liked her and our whole ideal wasn't one

sided. I also felt like the biggest dumbass on the planet. If I'd just sucked it up-like I should have- it wouldn't have taken us this long to get here.

Well… it's no use to dwell on the past

After I got out of the shower and got dressed, I received an expected phone call from Emmett.

"What asshole?" I laugh. That was our greeting

"Duuuuude. So how'd it go?" he asks. It's like I can hear his eyebrows wiggling as he asks.

"It was nice. She's really cool. She agreed to be my girlfriend." I inform with a grin.

"Nice," he says. "So how was the sex? It had to be good if she's your girlfriend already."

"What! We didn't have sex. It was the first date."

I wanted to

"That never stopped you before. I just figured that after 12 years.." he added.

"Exactly." I cut him off. "I've waited 12 years. I can wait longer. For Christ's sakes,Emmett. She's not a fucking conquest." I add curtly.

I'll be the first to admit that I haven't had the finest track record when it came to actually courting a woman. I never really had to. I could just smile and panties would drop.

I'm not conceited. It's the truth. Don't judge me.

This whole 'trying to get to know someone before you sleep with them' thing was new to me. I've never really had to work for sex. I wanted to deserve Bella the first time we made love. To be honest, it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to say that Bella was my first actual girlfriend.

You know, the kind you actually like.

"Damn" Emmett conceded. "I didn't know I hit a nerve. Sorry." He says. "I'm glad things are working out so far."

"Thanks man. She's pretty awesome." I smile into the phone.

"Awww. You looooove her," he teases.

"Shut up," was my genius rebuttal.

"Wow. Edward Cullen falls in love. Let me get my snow boots ready. There must be a blizzard in Hell," he laughs. "Good for you man. She rocks. She's way too cool

for you man. Don't fuck that up."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." I tell him. "What am I doing today?"

"You've got a meeting with the producers from Second Chances to discuss reshoots. Then, we have a meeting to discuss some offers. Next, you have a GQ shoot and interview."

"No sleep I guess?" I ask. "Unfortunately."

"Shit. Well, it's what I signed up for. Bye. See ya later." "Okay. The producer meeting is at 12. Don't be late."

"I won't" I say as we hang up the phone.

Once I found out that I was going to be busy for practically the whole day, I felt the need to call Bella. It sucked that I wasn't going to be able to see her, seeing as she's only been my girlfriend for 12 hours and I'm already too busy to hang out with her. I expected her to be upset, maybe even yell a little. But to my surprise, she was for the most part accepting about it. I could tell she was a little disappointed so I made it a point to make it up to her.

When I arrived at the studio to address things about the movie, I was only dreading one issue. Lauren. I couldn't stand that bitch. I know bitches are plentiful in Hollywood, but Lauren takes the cake. It doesn't help that she is mildly obsessed with me. The fact that we slept together doesn't help my situation either. I was drunk. She was there. It happened. It was definitely not my finest hour. Afterwards, Lauren decided to go all fatal attraction on my ass. Mysteriously appearing at places I frequent, occasionally being in the neighborhood and stopping by my house, I was afraid I'd find a boiled bunny on my stove. Apparently my telling her I'm not interested was not clear enough. I hope she's cooled it with her stalker tendencies.

It was starting to scare me.

Emmett is waiting for me outside, where he gives me the usual instructions.

"Sit down. Shut up. Look pretty and let me do the talking," he tells me as we enter the boardroom. All of the main cast are present as well as the director Aro Volturi. I had much respect for this man. He's just scary as Hell. He's about two days older than dirt, senile, and has insane boundary issues.

"Edward!" Aro comes over to me and hugs me. Not the manly kind. The girly kind. Then he kisses my forehead. What the fuck?

Boundary issues

"Hi Aro" I say once I recover from my initial shock. "How's the editing going." I ask. I know they were trying to have the film released before Christmas. I wanted to know about the progress they were making.

"Fabulous! I must let you know, you did an outstanding job. You may have a shot at award season."

This meant a lot. I worked hard on that movie. To have an esteemed director like Aro compliment my performance, it meant the world to me. Now, I was one step closer to Lions and Lambs.

"Wow." I say. "It's an honor hearing that from you. I really wanted to give it my all and do my best. I hope I didn't let you down."

"You didn't. I see big things for your future, Mr. Cullen. Actually, there is this project that I've heard—"

"EDWARD!" I hear the sound of an escaped banshee call.

Shit

"Hi Lauren" I say in a deadpan tone. I hope that she doesn't still think there is something between us.

"I've missed you so much baby." She rushes over and hugs me and kisses the top of my head. Emmett coughed…loudly. I replied with a nervous laugh.

I must quit drinking

"Well…" Jane Volturi says as she clears her throat and enters the room. The entire room is engulfed with silence. Jane isn't the most attractive person on the planet, but she means business. I've seen her make A-list celebrities (male and female) run crying from the set. Lauren had a hard time crying in a scene. Jane flicked hot sauce in her eyes. To be honest, I was afraid to look at her. You may not want to fuck her, but you definitely don't want to fuck with her. This bitch is hard core. "Let's get to the subject at hand."

"Okay," everyone in the room agreed. It was funny when I realized that no one, not even Aro, her own father, was looking at her.

"We have good material. I know that. You know that. But, every movie has a few rough spots that need to be sand out. Daddy and I talked about it and we decided that 3 scenes in particular need to be reshot. The scene when Sam goes to Frankie's school, Patricia talking to her mother about her parent's marriage, and…" she looks around hesitantly, "the chair scene."

Fuck!

There's a scene in the movie where Sam and Patricia (me and Lauren), have sex in a chair. Lauren kept 'messing up.' Personally, I think she was doing that shit on purpose. No person wants to spend the entire day ¾ naked in front of a cast and crew. It was difficult the first time around-not to mention graphic. Now, they wanted to do it again? This shit is unreal.

"Wait a minute." Emmett interrupts.

Go Emmett! Lawyer this shit up!

"You mean to tell me that you spent an entire day shooting this scene and you didn't get one good take? I'm not buying what you're selling." Emmett continues. I fist pump him under the table.

"Emmett…" Aro interrupts gently. "Yes, we got a good take. We need a great take. This is the climax-pun not intended- to the movie. The spark is not there" he says as he throws his hands in the air as though he's cursing the heavens in futility. "We must…. IGNITE THAT SPARK!" he screams.

Are you serious?

"I don't have any problems with it. Eddie, we'd get to spend more time together. You're acting like you don't even like me," Lauren says with a pout.

"It's Edward." I say calmly

Whose acting?

"Aro. Seriously?" Emmett raises his eyebrows. "Cut your shit."

"No. Emmett. Cut your shit" he points as he retaliates to Emmett. He turns to me.

"Edward, you must—"

"Stop being a bitch!" Jane interrupts. "The scene is being redone. There is nothing you can do about it. We didn't come here to discuss that. We came to discuss when to reshoot them. I'm thinking…" she says as she scrolls through her phone, "two weeks. That gives us enough time to have it edited in enough time. What do you think daddy?"

"Perfect pumpkin," she smiles as he kisses her on the cheek.

Ewww!

"Yeah. That way, Eddie and I would get to spend more time in New York. Wouldn't we Eddie?"

"It's EDWARD" I say indignantly. "I guess it's okay. If you say we need it then…" I shrug my shoulders. I didn't want to rock the boat. I trusted Aro-even if the thought of being within 10 feet of Lauren made me sick.

"Yes!" Aro shouts as he kisses my forehead…again. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable. "I know what I'm doing. It will be fine." He assures me as he walks out of the boardroom.

"This was relatively painless." Jane smirks. "We'll send you a message about what day in particular you should be there," she finishes as she walks out of the room.

Emmett and I make our way to the elevator doors.

"Sorry, bro" Emmett says as he pats me on the back. "I know how much you hate that bitch. A whole day. Seriously?" he asks himself more so than me.

"It's okay. You can't win em' all"

"I hope you aren't offended when I say this. You need to fix that shit you started with Lauren. You have a girlfriend- an awesome, hot girlfriend with a hot ass—"

"EMMETT" I interrupt with a warning.

"Sorry. What I'm saying is that you don't want Lauren's crazy ass starting anything."

As the doors open, I hear the unmistakable sound of heels running to the door. I already knew who it was.

"Eddie, wait for me!"

"It's Edward" I whisper to myself as I walk into the door.

"Fix it" Emmett says as he makes his way to the bathroom. "Now is your chance."

Don't leave me alone with her!

Lauren runs through the doors just as they're about to close. She stands in the corner of the elevator looking forward at the doors.

Please be quiet

I hoped for too much. As soon as the elevator starts to move, Lauren pushes the STOP button and tries to jump me.

"Oh, baby!" she says as she throws herself at me. "It was so hard to be in that room and pretend that I didn't like you" she continues as she starts to kiss all over me. "It was complete torture."

Noooooo

"Lauren—" I try to stop her

"EDWARD!"

"L-Lauren" I say as I try to gently push her away

"HONEY!" she moans as she starts to unbutton my shirt.

"LAUREN!" I shout as I push her off of me. "Stop! I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. I feel really bad about what happened between us. I'm sorry if I led you on. I didn't mean to. I thought we were on the same page."

She steps back as she rearranges her clothes. I wipe the lipstick off of my face and re button my shirt.

"Is there… someone else?" she asks as she puts her lips in a straight line and crosses her arms.

"I guess. I'm seeing her." I tell her as I push the start button on the elevator.

"What's her name?" she asks.

"How is that important?"

"I think I have the right to know the name of the slut you cheated on me with!" she shouts as she begins to pace around the elevator.

"We were never dating, Lauren." I tell her…again. "Plus, she is not a slut." I don't get why she was upset. We only had sex one time. Plus, I'm pretty sure she was having sex with other men after it happened.

"Ugh! Whatever! I can't believe you!" she yells as she slaps me. We stand for the rest of the ride down in complete silence. She storms out of the elevator once the doors open where I am met with a curious Emmett.

"Sooo…" he asks.

"I told her I was seeing someone… after she tried to jump me in the elevator." I tell him as I rub my cheek. "There was no escape" I add in a ghostly tone.

"It's over now. At least I hope so" he laughs.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. As normal as it is for my line of work, anyway. I finished the day with a call from my mother.

"Hey mom!" I say into the phone.

"Hi, Honey," she says into the phone. "I miss my baby so much. You never come home anymore," she says solemnly.

"I've been busy, Mom. I'm coming for Thanksgiving. I promise." I always make sure to spend Thanksgiving at home with my family. It's the biggest holiday for us.

"I know you won't let us down. You know what would really make my holiday?" she asks

"What?"

"If you brought a girl home."

"Mom!" I shout.

"In all of your 29 years, you've never brought a girl home to meet us. Not even for a play date. I want some grandbabies, Edward!" she tells me. "You're not getting any younger."

Ever since I turned 25, my mom has found a way to bring up my lack of a serious relationship into as many conversations as she can.

"I know, Mom. I know. I'm working on it." I was actually thinking of inviting Bella to meet my parents on Thanksgiving-officially. It was a long time away. If she was comfortable with it, I was going to ask her to come. I don't think she's been back to Forks since she went away to college.

"Oooh! Do you have a girlfriend?" she asks eagerly.

She is such a gossip

"Yes" I tell her. I couldn't help but smile when I thought about Bella.

"Really? A real one? Now one of those, what do you call it… friends with benefits?" she asks. I picture her hugging the phone with both hands and hunching her shoulders with glee. She acts like a little kid.

"Yes, mother. I have a real girlfriend. I am officially in a monogamous relationship." I say with a slight laugh.

I just made her day.

"Oh, wait until I tell your father. He'll be so pleased. CARLISLE… come downstairs. Edward's on the phone and he has a girlfriend." I hear my mom shout for my father. I wait on the phone as I hear my parents mumbling to each other. "You're on speaker phone" my mom tells me.

"You better not be lying to your mother." My father warns.

"Is it so far out of the imagination that I'd have a girlfriend?" I ask.

"Kind of" my dad says with a laugh.

"Carlisle" my mother says, shocked.

"What?" He asked. "The only girl he ever talked about for more than a day was Bella Swan. Hey Edward, do you remember her? You had it so bad." He laughs.

"Aww. He did." My mother joins him. "You were all, 'Dad, how is Bella's leg? Is she okay?' she laughs with him. "Isn't she on that show Halfsies? I love that show! I can't wait for the last episode."

"Yeah." I confirm.

"Wouldn't it be funny if Bella was Edward's girlfriend? I mean… 12 years and he finally got the courage." My dad asks my mom.

Why am I still on the phone?

"Well…" I say as I shrug my shoulders

"No way" my dad says. "Finally?"

My only response was to laugh. "Yeah. She's really cool. She's not like other girls. She's different." I confide in my parents.

"That is so cute" my mother gushes. "We're finally going to get grandchildren, Carlisle." She adds.

"Mom!" I shout. Honestly, the thought of having children with Bella didn't freak me out.

"Come on. The first girl that really catches your eye in all this time must be special. You must bring her for Thanksgiving." She commands.

"I will do my best." I tell them. "I gotta go. Bye." "Bye" they say in unison.

"Don't be a stranger," my mother tells me before she hangs up the phone.

I was feeling guilty about not being able to hang out with Bella today, so I called her and invited her over for dinner the next day and she accepted. I knew that we were both busy and I was glad that we would have some time to be together with just the two of us. I agonized over every detail, cleaning the house- at least downstairs- and stressing over what we'd do. After debating over what to do, I just decided to cook spaghetti. It's foolproof.

Finally, she was pulling up in my driveway. The first thing I noticed was her car.

Damn, it's sexy

The sight of a 1967 Ford GT Mustang in such perfect condition, and knowing that my Bambi owned such a bad ass piece of machinery made me a little horny. Then, I saw her foot she step out of the car.

Yep. I definitely have a shoe fetish. Maybe only when Bella wears shoes.

They were brown heels with some jewelry on them. You know the kind I'm talking about. My eyes travelled up to her toned, long legs which were uncovered due to the tiny khaki shorts she was wearing. She also had on a white shirt with one of those brown shrug things. I saw her reach into her car for something. Fuck yes! She baked something!

Did the Earth just move in slow motion?

I met her at the door and placed whatever she brought in the fridge.

"Hey boyfriend," she says as she arches her feet up and gives me a long kiss. "I missed you," she adds with a pout.

"I missed you too, girlfriend." I tell her. How did we start that? "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"For the 80th time, it's okay," she laughs. "It's going to happen. Geez!" she exaggerates.

"Well, let's go have dinner." I say as I lead her to the dining room. She smiles as she takes in the scene.

"Awww. This is so nice." She gushes. "You're turning me into a girl," she laughs. "I try" I laugh.

After we got settled and fixed our plates, we talked about our days.

"You look really beautiful," I tell her. "as always."

"Thanks. We kinda match." She giggles as she points out my white polo shirt and khaki pants.

"Wow. We do." I laugh with her.

"I agonized forever about what I was going to wear. It was either this or this sundress Alice tried to literally force on me. That chick is strong. I had enough of that shit when I was little."

"Well, you look wonderful." I tell her. "What do you mean you had enough when you were little?" I ask. I was curious. As soon as I mention it, Bella's face had a mild sense of terror. She quickly masked it as confusion.

"Just…ya know. Moms dressing their girls up all the time in dresses. I'm burnt out. How are Rose and Emmett doing? Rose really likes him," she asks trying to throw

me off of her scent.

"They're doing great. Emmett is going over Rose's for dinner tonight." I tell her.

"That's good. He should start eating her food now anyways," she chuckles.

"Why?"

"So he can start building antibodies," she laughs. "Cooking isn't her strong suit."

"Well, I don't think it will bother Emmett. He'd eat fried poison oak if you told him Kraft made it." I laugh and she joining in with me. "Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Answer the question" I tell her as I stop laughing.

"Damn" she says defeated. "I thought I had you. Promise you won't laugh," she asks with a serious face.

"I can't promise you that" I tell her honestly.

"Fine" she huffs. "I mean, it's not that bad. It's just hard to picture me..now..doing it. To be honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't shown up on Youtube yet." She says as she continues her rant.

"Damn, Bella." I laugh. "Did you do porn or something?" I ask her. That would suck.

Silence

Bella puts her head in her hands and shakes her head profusely.

"Bella, it's okay" I say as I rub my arm on her shoulder. "I won't judge you. I still lo—"

"Of course I didn't do porn! What made you think that? You have a wild imagination Cullen." She laughs.

"Okay…Well…" I urge her to continue. "I'm really interested now"

"Promise you'll at least try not to laugh." She asks.

"Okay."

"Iwasinpageantswheniwasakid" she rushes. "What?"

"I was in beauty pageants when I was a little kid" she tells me with a solemn look on her face.

Keep it together. Keep it together. Keep it together

"Shut up!" she shouts as she pouts and crosses her arms.

"OH MY GOD!" I loudly whisper. After that I can't contain my laughter.

"I'm serious, Cullen. Keep this shit in the vault. Rose and Alice don't even know. Congratulations. You know my secret shame."

"It couldn't have been that bad." I say.

"Yeah. It was. Fake teeth, vasoline in your mouth, hideous dresses, tans, and the talent. Oh God…the talent," she says with a far off look.

"What was it?" I ask.

"Nope. I'm not telling you."

"I'll get it out of you sooner or later." I tell her as I twirl my imaginary mustache.

"I'll enjoy watching you try," she slouches in her chair and raises her eyes in challenge.

"Enough about me. What about you? What is your family like, apart from what you've already told me?"

"I was born and raised in Forks. I'm an only child. I would have killed for a little brother or sister when I was little." I say as I think of other facts about myself. Honestly, I lived a normal, somewhat boring, life. "My dad is my hero. I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. It didn't really work out that way." I add with a laugh as I start to gather up the plates and take them to the kitchen.

"Well, don't be envious of being an only child. Siblings are overrated. Trust me. The only thing my brothers love to do is torture me, even in their thirties. I wanted to be a lawyer when I grew up" she laughed. "Can you imagine? I was this close to defending someone from the death penalty."

"It doesn't seem out of the ordinary. You're smart."

She smiles as I say this. "I almost beat you for valedictorian"

"What!" I ask shocked. "How?"

"I had a 4.0 gpa. I also got a 1480 on the SAT out of 1600" she says as she begins to help me wash the dishes. "Don't argue with me." She warns. " I'm helping you wash the dishes. I hear your brain thinking."

"Why didn't you get it then?" I asked. I decided not to argue about the dishes. "Disciplinary problems" she laughs. "I didn't care though. My parents did, of

course" she adds. "What college did you go to?"

"Dartmouth. It was rough. I had no life whatsoever for the first year." I laugh.

"Damn. I perfected my kegstand during my first year." She adds with a laugh.

"That had to be heavy."

"Yeah." I say as I finish the dishes and throw her over my shoulder. She wasn't expecting it.

"What the Hell? EDWARD!" she yells as she kicks her feet and starts to laugh. "Put me down." She asks as she smacks my ass.

"No." I reply as I smack her back as retaliation and make my way to the couch.

"Ooh" she says as she stops kicking her feet. "Who told you I was into that?" she laughs as I smack her ass…again. "YES!" she laughs as I sit her down on the couch

and sit down next to her.

"You're weird." I laugh.

"And you love it. It makes me interesting" she wiggles her ass and reaches for the remote. I grab her hand.

"Hey Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Birthday" I tell her as I pull a gift out from under my couch.

"Edward, you really shouldn't have."

Bella didn't celebrate her birthday. She even told me that she has forbidden anyone to mention it. I didn't care. She was getting a gift.

"Yes. I did. Now open it." I tell her as I place the gift in her hands.

"You knew it was my birthday?" she asks.

"Bella," I laugh. "it was on Entertainment Tonight. I think the whole country knows today is your birthday."

"Smartass" she mumbles under her breath as she unwraps her gift. I think I detect a hint of a smile as she realizes what it is.

"A Kindle!" she screams as she looks at the box. "I've been meaning to get one of these."

"I know you like to read so.." I shrug my shoulders. "I put Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and Wuthering Heights on there. I know they're your favorites. If it makes you feel any better. I didn't spend too much on it"

"It's wonderful. Thank you" she smiles as she straddles me on the couch and begins to kiss along my neck.

"You're welcome" I tell her as tilt her head upwards to start ravaging her mouth in kisses. She welcomes the assault eagerly. We stay this way, exploring each others mouths until we find ourselves lying down on the couch, me hovering over Bella. She shifts to get in another position, making her hips momentarily grind into me causing a growl followed by a mumbled, "Fuck" to escape my throat.

"Ooh," she giggles against my lips as she runs her hands up my shirt, ghosting her soft hands against my chest, before pulling it off of me completely. Instinct takes over as I reciprocate her advance which leads to her shirt on the floor, me trailing kisses along her neck as our hips move in sync with each other. Quickly,

I sit up to look at her and am stunned speechless at the sight before me. A halo of beautiful brown locks are spread out around her, making her look like the angel she is. My eyes travel down to her chest and to her stomach as I notice her flesh tone turn pink under my gaze. "Beautiful," I whisper to her as I continue my journey along her body. She tangles one of her hands in my hair while the other trails down my stomach to palm my erection. I'm pulled back down to Earth.

This is too soon

I wanted Bella to know how much I loved her the first time we made love. It definitely wasn't going to be on my sofa. The route we were going, if I didn't stop soon, I wouldn't be able to.

"Bella, stop." I tell her as I grab her hand.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" she asks as a pout forms on her face.

"No, baby. You didn't. We need to stop. I don't want our first time to be like this. I'm surprised I was able to stop."

"Oh. Ok" she says awkwardly, crossing her arms over her shoulders as she looks for her shirt. I grab her arms.

"Don't hide from me. You're beautiful. You didn't do anything wrong. I just don't trust myself around you yet. It's a respect issue. I respect you too much to do this." I tell her forcefully, looking her in the eye to make sure she believed me.

"I know" she says as she blushes. "I don't want to move too fast either. I'm just kinda embarrassed at how I attacked you" she laughs as she puts her arms downs and shakes her head.

With that comment, all the awkwardness disappears.

"No need to be embarrassed" I tell her as I wiggle my eyebrows "It's not an attack if you welcome it. Attack me anytime." I finish with a laugh and knock her over so we're both lying on the couch facing the t.v.

"And you say I'm weird" she says as she grabs the remote. She turns on the television and turns on Hey Arnold and starts to sing the intro.

I love that fuckin show. Another reason why we belong together

We watch the marathon in silence stealing kisses and the occasional boob squeeze until Bella turns to face me.

"I enjoy this. Just us. No cameras or annoying questions about our personal life" she says as her brow orbs gaze into my eyes as she plants a soft kiss on my lips.

"I know. It feels good just to hold you like this and not have to answer to anyone about it."

This got me thinking. How long would our bubble of privacy last? I just got Bella and I don't like to share. I didn't like the idea of our relationship being spread over every gossip magazine and website with false speculations about how we are. "To be honest, I don't want to share you just yet. I'm having fun being selfish" I say as I kiss her the top of her head. I feel her smile through my lips as she backs away to look at me.

"Really? I was thinking the same thing. I just got you after 12 years. I want you all to myself" she tells me while threading her hand through my hair. " I must admit. It won't be fun watching sluts throw themselves at you though" she smirks.

"And I won't enjoy every guy in the room staring at you."

"Yeah right"

"You really don't see yourself clearly do you?"

"So they tell me" she shrugs. "I guess we'll both have to endure it" she says as she gives me another kiss and turns back to the t.v. to continue watching cartoons.

That's how the rest of our evening went. Over the next week, we'd call each other on the phone and sneak over to each other's houses. In an odd way, we kinda felt like a couple of teenagers. Isn't that how people in love feel? During one of our conversations, Bella joked about me making an appearance during Halfsies finale and I jumped at it. I'd get to see my Bambi in action and surprise my mom. I knew she'd be watching it.

Bella was every bit fascinating and beautiful as I thought she would be as she worked the stage doing what she does best—making people laugh. I couldn't resist the temptation of playing grabass during the taping. She looked too good to pass up that golden opportunity. I'd be lying if I said I didn't take it to mark her as mine in front of the entire country, even if no one knew we were dating. Nothing could ruin my high. Not even that whore Jessica who couldn't manage to take a hint if you threw it at her. I finally decided to leave, even though I wanted to spend more time with Bella and promised her to meet her at the party. The way Bella was looking at her, I was afraid she'd punch Jessica in the face.

Although it would be kind of hot

After a very excited phone call from my mother, I got ready for the night. I decided to wear a green button down shirt with some jeans and some vans. It seemed to look okay.

I pull up to the back entrance of the club where I meet Emmett and Jasper. They complement me on the show.

"Dude," Jasper starts. "What was with the ass grab?" he asks, laughing.

"Yeah," Emmett adds. "That was not in the script…you animal" he shakes his finger at me.

When I step out of the car, I am ambushed by paparazzi. All I see are flashing light bulbs followed by "Edward!" "Edward, over here!" "How's it goin' Edward?" I'm temporarily blinded by the lights as I make a quick dash to the door.

As I step inside, I take notice of the atmosphere. Vortex was the hot new club the past month or two, but I'd never had the opportunity or time to go. The place is set up like an old warehouse with panels of exposed brick all over the building with dark hard wood floors. The balcony, which I assumed was the V.I.P. section, was separated by individual staircases that ascend to the special section. The club is lit up by chandeliers and strobe lights with aerial acrobatics fall from the ceiling. It was cool.

I'm spotted downstairs and once again I'm bombarded with requests for pictures and autographs. I oblige the fans for a while before we're ushered upstairs to what Emmett likes to call the 'pretty people section.' After the waiter comes and takes our drink orders, we talk amongst ourselves as we wait for our ladies to come.

"Jazz, how's things with Alice going?" Emmett starts. "Is her energizer bunny-ness too much for you?"

"Nope, man" he says with a wide grin. "She's awesome. She might be… it" he says as his grin grows wider.

"Wow. I can see every last one of your teeth" I joke with him.

"That's good man"

"Now that we're on the subject, Rose is it for me man. I'm a fucking goner. She can't cook for shit, but she's my Rosie. She's the hardcore bitch I've dreamt of since I was a little boy" he says as he laughs and looks away into the distance. Emmett may be a big motherfucker, but he's a good guy. He wears his heart on his sleeve, but he's an overgrown preschooler. Hopefully, Rose can keep his ass in line. He turns to me. "So, how are things with you know who?" he asks.

"Great. Everyday there's something different. She's just… I can't explain it." I tell them. I don't try to hide the smile on my face.

"Wow. We. Are. So. Fucked" Emmet laughs.

"Don't I know it" Jazz adds. " Edward, heads up. Alice is already planning you and Bella's wedding in her head…something about peacock feathers. I stopped paying attention half way through." He laughs.

I laughed a little. Honestly, the thought didn't seem that far fetched. It freaked me out that I wasn't freaked out. I mean, how do you tell someone that you want to marry them and have children and you've barely been dating a month? If a woman told me that, I'd get a restraining order. My inner monologue is cut short by the howling of a voice I'd come to hate within the past 6 hours.

"Eddie!" Jessica shrieks. "You came. I knew you would" she tells me as she wraps her arms around me and hugs me about 5 seconds longer than is socially acceptable.

Did she just sniff me?

I notice that she has brought her entire entourage with her. It consisted of at least 5 women, each sluttier than the last. How obnoxious can a person get? After Jessica's minions all get an autograph and a picture, she and her friends pull a table and chairs up to our booth, without asking, and proceed to engage us in conversation. This consisted of conversations with obvious sexual undertones and inappropriate touches. None of them could understand that none of us were interested. Maybe a year ago we would be. But tonight—No.

No mean no, BITCH!

Then, to make tonight even more awkward, Mike Newton decided that he wanted to crash over at my table with his henchmen as well. So he pulled up yet, another table. This guy was a douche. To make things worse, he was an arrogant douche at that. We were always competing for roles.

Guess who won?

Whenever we were in the same venue or at the same party, he made it his mission to be seen with me, like it would make him look cooler. He reminded me of the friends I had in high school. Hollywood wasn't much different.

Where is Bella?

"So, Cullen" Mike whispers, "you've been hogging all the trim…again. Selfish" he laughs.

"They came over here" I tell him. "Have at it" I say with a shrug of my shoulders. I felt a little guilty, just passing off these women. But, they were annoying me and my friends. At least they wouldn't be my problem anymore.

"Dude, where is Bella?" Emmett asks.

"Probably at home eating ice cream and reading a book" Jessica laughs. "She is so anti-social" she says with her 'I'm not a gossip' face.

"Not to mention crazy" one of her puppets say. "Tell them what she did, Jessica" she prompts.

"Well" she starts as she begins to make her lip quiver. She is a horrible actress. "We were in a meeting one day and out of nowhere she jumps over the table and puts me in a headlock." When I hear this, I try my best not to laugh. It's funny to imagine my Bambi doing that. But, I don't think she'd do it for no reason. Jessica continues her monologue. "Theresa had to pull her off of me. I'm not even supposed to talk about it. You know. I hate to think about what could have happened" she tells me as she puts her head in her hands. She can't even cry. Where did they find this chick?

"Besides, she's probably a lesbian" Mike adds. "I worked on Chart Toppers with her. I tried to tap that for three straight months. Nothing. She has to be batting for the other team."

Maybe it's because you're a Grade A douche bag

"Right," I interrupt. "You're abrasiveness and lack of charm had nothing to do with it" I laugh, causing others to join.

"Whatever, dude" she says in a serious tone, "she is definitely a…" he couldn't finish his sentence as a result of his staring. His eyes look as big as quarters.

Is he drooling?

I look over in the direction he is staring at and I am stunned speechless and motionless by the sight.

"Oh" "My" "God"

DAAAAAAAYYYYYUUUUMMM!

Here comes Bella, Alice, and Rose in all of their glory. Alice has on a short pink dress. Jasper gets a shit eating grin on his face as he takes her in. She walks over to sit on Jasper's lap as she gives all of the surrounding girls the evil eye as she places herself in his lap and gives him a kiss.

Rose has on a red dress that looks more like a shirt. Emmett runs over to greet her and picks her up and twirls her.

"Rosie!" Emmett yells as he carries her Superman style to the table. "Back off asshole!" he shouts to a man who is staring a little too hard at Rose's ass. That earns him a smack on the back of the head, followed by a wet, sloppy kiss. They confuse me.

Then there was Bella. Oh Bella. If she was beautiful before, I don't know what she is now. She has on a light blue dress that comes down in the top middle of her thigh which hugs every single one of her delicious curves. My curves. She has on a gold necklace that drops right in the center of her so-sexy-it-should-be-illegal cleavage- right where I want to be. She pairs a pair of strappy glittery shoes that are fucking sexy as Hell.

The kind with the red bottoms? Fuck yes!

As she begins to walk over to the table, a mysterious gust of wind blows over the entire club. It's odd, seeing as how all the doors are closed. It's like the 4 elements are reacting to her sexiness. She's stop halfway to her table and turns around. It seems as though the back of her dress goes into an elaborate design in the back.

Was her ass always that perfect?

"Look at that ass! There is no way she's wearing a bra with that dress" Mike whispers in my ear as he openly ogles my girlfriend. I fight the urge to break my beer bottle over his head.

Mine!

Bella walks over to the same table I'd signed autographs previously, and begins to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. She looks beautiful talking and smiling with fans and she takes pictures using bunny ears and even kisses a kid, on the cheek. He beams as though she just made his year.

It would have made mine

"Bitch"

"Slut"

"Attention whore"

These are some of the jealousy-fueled insults I hear Jessica throw out as Bella finally makes her way over to the table.

"Hey guys" she says cheerfully as the guys mumble an awkward "Hi" and Jessica and the rest of the slut brigade huff and roll their eyes. "It's that guy over there's

21st birthday. Isn't that cool?"

"There aren't any chairs left so…" Jessica says with a shit eating grin. Before she could finish her sentence, Mike and his friends shoot up from their chairs and offer her theirs. This leads to several of Jessica's friends who were sitting on their laps to be thrown to the floor.

BAHAHAHAH!

"Oh. Please, don't give up your chair" she blushes and looks down. "I'll just find my own" she says as she goes to find a chair of her own.

"Wait." Rose shouts. "Take mine" she offers her seat in the booth next to Emmett and sits in his lap.

"You sure?" she asks. "I can walk five whole feet, even in these shoes" she laughs.

"Yes. Sit your ass down, Bitch!" Rose encourages. Bella finally gives in as Bella shimmies into Rose's space… next to me.

"Ney Ney N-Ney Ney. She's my-y girlfriend" my inner kindergartner taunts Mike and his posse.

After Bella sits down, the waiter who took our order previously comes over to our booth-and tables.

"Hello, Ms. Swan" the asshole says as he stares at her tits. "Would you and your friends like something to drink?" he asks, only talking to her. What the fuck?

I might want a refill, fucker

"Yeah" Alice laughs and Bella cringes. "I'll have an Apple martini."

"And I'll have a Pomegranate martini" Rose adds with a giggle.

"Bella?"

"I'll have a Coke" she says as she rolls her eyes.

"Okay" he says. "I'll be right back with you ladies' order."

"You aren't drinking tonight?" I ask her.

"Nope. After last time, I promised myself I'd try to curb it. Besides, I lost a Rock, Paper, Scissors off against the WonderBitches over here" she says while pointing to Rose and Alice who are giggling their asses off. "I have to pay for drinks and be the designated driver. Even though, I volunteered for the last part anyway."

"That must kill you" I laugh. "You're so cheap."

"Yeah, laugh at my misery." She says as she rolls her eyes.

"You look nice" I tell her. I wish I could hug and kiss her to let all these staring motherfuckers that she's mine, but I know that it would only blow our cover.

"Yeah" Jessica interrupts. "You actually have a shape. Who knew with those lovely sweat pants you wear all the time?" she asks while smirking at her own humor.

"Thank you, Jessica" Bella says, smiling. "Your dress looks gorgeous on you. Did it come with knee pads?" she asks as she tilts her head to the side. Jessica huffs loudly as Rose and Alice start to laugh uncontrollably.

I don't get it

Bella sits satisfied with her comeback as the waiter comes back with the girl's drink order.

"How much?" Bella asks as she reaches in her purse for her credit card. "I got it" Mike and I say at the same time as I reach for my wallet.

"It's okay, sir. The bill has been taken care of" he says as he points over to another portion of the V.I.P section. Oh Hell no!

Leonardo Dicaprio did not just buy Bella a drink

"Oh" we say as I notice Bella turn her head to hide her blush.

"Well," Mike says as he wiggles his eyebrows. "When are you going to get some free time and let me take you out?" he asks, ogling her causing her to squirm around in her chair. Fucker.

"There isn't enough free time in the world Newton" Bella says as she crosses her arms over her chest. "My face is up here" she adds as she snaps her fingers in front of his face. "Besides, I'm seeing someone" she tells him while sneaking a glance at me.

I fought the grin that threatened to show on my face at the thought of her rejecting him and claiming our relationship. She looks so cute when she's annoyed.

"Damn" he says as he looks around the table at everyone's awkward faces.

"So Bella," Jessica starts. "Have you gotten any movie offers yet? I've gotten tons and…" She gloats.

Jessica is cut off by the sound of an alarm. "Okay" the dj screams as the crowd goes wild. "It's time for The Sexiest Lady of the Night Award. And it goes to…" he waits as a spotlight scans over the crowd causing the cheers to increase. "BELLA SWAN!" he shouts as the bright light lands on Bella. She blushes and smiles. "Stand up!" the dj screams and Bella obliges his request and waves awkwardly at the crowd. "Damn. That must be jelly, cause jam don't shake like that!" he says making all the men in the crowd yell like animals.

I'm kicking everybody's ass. Tonight.

After a few seconds in the lights, Bella sits down and the music resumes. "I've gotten a few. But, let's not talk about it tonight. No work!" she says playfully as she sits down and sips her drink.

After that, Bella kept getting free drinks from random people and celebrities. I stopped getting mad after the 2nd round came. By the time the night was over, Rose and Emmett were basically fucking on the dance floor, while a drunk Jasper was trying to keep an even drunker Alice from attempting to swing on one of the chandeliers.

"You see why they need a designated driver?" she asks as she laughs, pointing to the chaos surrounding our friends.

"Yeah. Those chicks can party" I laugh.

During the rest of the night, Bella and I kept looking for ways to touch each other. It killed us not to be able to be affectionate with each other. Jessica and Mike eventually gave up and went off somewhere together, while their individual groups left to do whatever it is they do.

Who knows? Who cares?

The club was due to close in 30 minutes, so the 6 of us decided it would be best for us to start leaving. Emmett helped to load Alice in the backseat of Bella's car as Bella guided a surprisingly still balanced Rose to the passenger seat. Jasper wasn't fit to drive, so Emmett decided he'd take him home. After everyone was ready to go, Bella came over and gave Em, Jazz, and I a hug.

When she came to hug me, she squeezed me tightly as I grabbed her by the waist and whispered, "Tonight sucked not being able to talk to you. I'll see you later." She added a quick kiss below my ear as she pulled away.

As she drove away, I noticed the ache in my chest I'd felt previously. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I'd seen her twice today and hadn't even been able to kiss her. When I reached home, I took out my phone and sent a text.

**Edward: I'm not ready to say goodnight.**

When I didn't receive a message, I'd thought she'd gone to bed. 30 minutes later, I got a reply.

**Bella: Me neither. Spend the night with me? **

**Edward: I'm on my way.**


	11. Chapter 11

Ch.11- We're getting somewhere

After we left the studio to go get ready for the party, Alice and Rose were on the warpath. In a small way, it was kinda funny. Rose is making up curse words and Alice, well I've never seen her so mad.

"I can't believe that bitch had the nerve…the audacity… the mindset to talk to you like that. I wanted to blind that bitch with my nail file" Alice steams as I pull out of the parking lot. "What a bitch!" she adds screaming from the back seat, as I'm driving. I momentarily swerve the car into the other lane.

"Fuck, Alice" I shout as I straighten the car and calm myself.

"Damn, girl." Rose laughs. "You know Bella has bad nerves. Are you trying to get us killed?" She must have forgotten she was mad. Then she remembered. "That mothercocksuckingbitch!" Rose yells as she rolls down the window on the passenger side to give someone who cut me off the one finger salute. "She has nothing on you, B."

"Damn right." Alice agrees. "Tonight, we're going to show that bitch… by you wearing what you should have worn on your first date" she adds with a small laugh as she rubs her hands. I'm expecting her to shout 'Mwahahaha' at any moment.

If she does that, I'm pulling the car over.

"Woah. Wait-"

"Don't even…" Rose points her finger at me.

"I'm not waiting for shit!" Alice tells me.

"What that bitch said to you was unacceptable. Do you hear me? Unacceptable. I won't stand for it. Neither should you. Why aren't you pissed? Why didn't you put her in another headlock?" Rose asks with concern.

"I just realized that no matter how slutty she dresses or acts… Edward is still mine" I add with a smirk. The girls' eyes light up in understanding. "Plus, he's repulsed by her. It makes me smile on the inside." I put on my best shit eating grin and giggle.

"Confident or not, you need to put that bitch in her place" Alice states as Rose nods her head in solidarity.

"Is 'that bitch' her name now?" I ask. "You both have said it like six times." I add.

I don't think they realized it

"Yes." Alice says, after she thinks for a few seconds. "That bitch doesn't deserve a name. Therefore, her name is 'that bitch' until further notice."

"Good. I can't stand that bitch." I say, pulling into my driveway.

"Me neither" they say in unison.

As soon as we step into the house, I'm thrown into a tornado of clothes, shoes, makeup and various other beauty products.

If I'm not careful, I'll have a pageant flashback.

"Damn" Alice mumbles. "By the time we get through getting Bella ready, we won't have enough time for us. I still have to get to my apartment" she slumps her shoulders.

Alice and Rose were looking forward to this party since… forever. I didn't want them to slight themselves to take care of me. Not only was that selfish, they'd bitch about it until it got to be unbearable. I decided that I'd just do it myself.

"I'll be fine. You guys go and do your thing. Meet me back here. I'll be ready."

I tell them as I start to usher them out of the door.

"No offence, Bella" Rose starts as she stops in my doorway. "I don't trust you to dress yourself… at all" she pats my back to further her point that she isn't trying to hurt my feelings.

"Yeah" Alice supports. "This outfit is key. If the hair and makeup isn't right…"

"Thanks for nicely telling me that I'm fashionably incompetent…"

"Ooh. I like that. I'll use that from now on" Alice says. "Anyway, we need to get back.."

"Alice." I say in my best 'serious' face. "I can do it myself."

"Bullshit" they both say as they stare at me with their best bitch faces in place.

Time to take a gamble

"Look. You already picked out my outfit right?" I ask. They nod their heads. "I can do my own hair and makeup. I'm sure. In fact, I'm so sure that if you two come back here and my hair and makeup isn't to your satisfaction, I'll let you take me shopping and have control over choice and expense. Plus, I promise not to bitch about it… the entire time." I say with the utmost confidence.

Gotcha

"Really?" Alice asks with a shit eating grin. It matches the one on Rose's face as well. I see the two of them huddle in the corner by the door.

Awww. That's me and Edward's corner

"Deal" Rose said as she shakes my hand. " We'll be back in 2 or 3 hours, give or take" she squeezes a little too hard to make a point. As they turn to leave, they look at each other and try their best to suppress their giggles and snickers.

You can laugh, now. I'll laugh later… with my credit card safely in my purse.

As I hear the sound of their cars driving away, I get to work. I would love not to be bored to death by going shopping, so I made up in my mind to reach back into my pageant rolodex and start getting ready. First, I take a shower and wash my hair. After I get out, I dry my hair and decide on what makeup palate I'm going to choose.

Being in pageants as a child taught me a few things. First and foremost, it taught me that I'd never want to do it again. Second, it taught me makeup. I can apply a professional looking fresh face of makeup in less than 10 minutes and I have been able to since I was 4. Do you want to know why I don't do it? It scares the shit out of me. Those things were torture. My mother almost blinded me with an eye pencil when I was 6. To this day, I get a slight twitch when I'm around makeup. When I go shopping, I bypass the makeup counter all together. Don't get me started on hair products.

Calm down, Bella

I just decided that a couple hours of torture were worth it so Alice and Rose can look their best as well.

After I'm done drying my hair, I hunt down the set of hair rollers and pins that Alice bought and proceed to roll my hair in the rollers. I'll decide what to do with it later. Then I look at the outfit sitting on my bed. Hmm. It's the same dress Alice wanted me to wear on the first date with Edward. It's this pretty color blue and the shoes are a nude color with glittery straps. They're cute.

After looking the outfit over and realizing that we were going to a nightclub, I choose to have natural makeup that gives a glow as well as slight blue eye liner (only the top part). It was safe-with an edge. I didn't want to get cocky. I still want to have money at the end of the week.

After I'm done with my makeup, I wait a short while before I take out the rollers in my hair. I wanted to do something different. Instead of having in curls down my b

ack like usual, I messed them up and created this 'just fucked' look.

I smiled when I looked in the mirror.

Edward and I will match

It was smooth sailing from there. I put on the dress and found matching accessories to go with it. I checked the clock and recognized that I had around 15 minutes until the WonderBitches came back, so I just lounged around with Captain until they came.

"Oh, Bella" Alice sang as I hear the sound of stilettos walking in my entryway. "You wouldn't be hiding. Are you?" Rose said in a tone of hope I didn't recognize. "In here, bitches!" I yell as Captain barks from the room.

" Aww shit" Rose says as she takes in how I look.

"I know right" Alice adds, dejectedly. "I thought it would be an easy victory."

"I only gamble when I know I'll win" I say with a raised eyebrow.

"Why don't you do your own hair and makeup all the time?" Alice asks.

"Simple. I don't like doing it. I didn't want you guys to slight yourself so I volunteered." I say as I put on the shoes Alice picked out. Once I do this, I notice how gorgeous the girls look. Rose is wearing her signature red, while Alice's pink dress personifies her fun personality.

"You guys look hot by the way" I say.

The girls insisted that I buy them drinks for holding out information and pretending to be helpless. I refused. So we settled the issue like adults. We played Rock, Paper, Scissors. I lost. I swear Alice is psychic.

I should have picked another game.

Soon, we're getting in my car on the way to the club. I vowed to be the designated driver as well. After the cluster fuck that happened after my HBO special, I figured that at least one of us needs to have our wits about us. Plus, you must admit that it's always funny to the only sober person in a crowd.

After we got to the club, it was the same scene. The club was nice, but the people sucked. Well, the people that I didn't know at my table sucked. I had a rough night between resisting the urge to stab Mike in the eye with the toothpick from Rose's martini and wondering how much time I'd get for disfiguring Jessica. Edward being there made it a little better. Who am I kidding? He made it a lot better. By the looks of it, he didn't want to be there either.

I couldn't stop touching him. Even if it was a simple graze of a pinky or him ghosting across my leg to grab a glass, I knew he was doing it on purpose, just as I used every excuse to feel his skin. I reveled in his touches and how his green eyes would gaze over me when no one was looking. I didn't feel uncomfortable in my clothes. I liked when he looked at me this way. It made me feel wanted and …sexy. I noticed how his eyes lit up when I informed Mike Newton that I was seeing someone. It meant the world that he enjoyed being mine as much as I enjoyed being his.

We sit together in this limbo until Alice decides that she wants to swing from a chandelier. We take that as a cue to leave. Before we left, I couldn't resist the urge to kiss Edward- even if it was on the neck. On the way to drop off Rose and Alice off at their houses, I started thinking. Did I really like this whole secrecy thing? I knew that it had its benefits, but it killed me not to be able to touch and claim him like I wanted to. Also, once the public found out-and they would- it would be Hell to have privacy. I keep telling myself that the distance is worth it. I know it is. It's just hard. For a second, I forgot that I was in the car with two drunk people.

"What. A. Night" Rose says from the front seat. "Fuuuuuck aweshome. Bewa, Did you see Emmett?" I say nothing. "BEWA! Pay attenshum to me"

"Yes, Rose" I laugh. "I saw Emmett."

"He looked sho hot didn't he? I want to do… nasty thinsh to him… and his dimples" she slurs while looking as if she's contemplating something. "Wait… that's prollally illegal"

"Well…" Alice starts in from the back seat. "He's got nothing on my Jazzy. He had on thut… thut… well I don't remember what color it was but he was sexy as Hell" she adds. "And damn it… EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas" she finishes before she starts to laugh. We join her.

"Oh my God" Rose says as she begins to fan herself with a napkin she found. "Emmett does thish thing wif his tongue…"

"OKAY" I interrupt. "TMI. That's enough" I try to reestablish order.

"I swear I saw Jesus" she adds. "Ish like I shaw my spirit above me. Then, it high fived Jesus" she adds. She was serious.

"I wanna have Jasper's babies" Alice confides. "With his eyes, hair, and my bone shrtructure… beautiful…with little cowboy hats…only if they're boys though" she smiles before nodding off to sleep.

Once they settled down, the rest of the drive was pretty quiet. Rose volunteered to let Alice stay at her place, so I only had to make one stop. Once I got back in the car, I noticed that I had a missed text message from Edward.

**Edward: I'm not ready to say goodnight**

I noticed that I'd received it 30 minutes ago. I hope he didn't think I ignored him and went to sleep. I send a reply.

**Bella: Me neither. Spend the night with me?**

Within minutes, he replies back.

**Edward: I'm on the way.**

'Okay' I thought as I started up my car. I had to admit, I was nervous at the thought of Edward spending the night at my house. However, I missed him and not being able to just be around him was torture. I needed my Edward fix. Badly.

Among other things

Edward and I came to an understanding about the physical side of our relationship. I'm glad that we both feel the need wait until we took that step. This being said, it had me nervous on how to proceed at all. I could feel Edward fighting with himself every time we get close to any sort of connection aside from a little heavy petting. I figured things would happen when they were supposed to.

When I pull up at the gate of my house, I realize that Edward is in his car waiting for me.

Awww. That's so sweet

"Hey" I say as I make my way out of the car and over to him. "I missed you" I add as I hug his waist and walk towards the door. He's changed out of his clothes into a white wife beater, some basketball shorts with those adidas sandals and a baseball cap. Normally, I don't like it when men wear sandals. I just do. There isn't really a reason for it. However, I'll make an exception for Edward.

Mmmm…Sexy

"How long were you waiting?" I ask.

"Not long. Five maybe ten minutes" he shrugs.

"Well…" I say as I bend down to pick up a rock. I notice Edward get a confused look on his face. "It's not a real rock! Don't worry. I'm not planning to bludgeon you to death. " I tell him as I laugh at the expression on his face. "It's a key holder." I say as I point out the opening on the bottom containing the key to my house. "You know. In case you ever want to come over, you can just… let yourself in."

"Okay" he says as I nonchalantly drop the "rock" back on the ground. It was until I heard the sound of the rock hitting the ground that I realized what I just did.

I just gave Edward the key to my house

I shake the thought out of my head as I open the door and follow Edward inside. "Finally" he exhales as he kicks the door closed with his foot and starts to kiss me.

I love kissing Edward. Whether it was a sweet chaste kiss or a hot and wet one like we were sharing now, I reveled in his kisses. We just seem to fit. I never have to second guess my actions when it came to this. Being with Edward felt like second nature. "I've been wanting to do that all day" he laughs as he tucks a piece of hair behind my ear.

"That makes two of us" I reply as I peck him on the lips. "Would you like a tour?" I ask him. I stifle my laugh as I remember his showdown with Captain in the entryway.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing." I say as I take his hand and start the tour. "Here is the entryway." I laugh. "But, I'm pretty sure you remember that" I smirk and Edward wraps his arm around me as I walk forward.

"I sure do" he says as he places small kisses on my neck, triggering my blush.

"To the left, is the sitting room, where I never sit" I laugh and continue walking. "To the right, we have the once useless hallway. It now features the once pantry turned shoe closet. Alice orders" I laugh as I take my shoes off and throw them in.

Maybe I'm hearing things, but I think I heard Edward huff in disappointment when I took my shoes off.

"Wow" he smirks.

"What?"

"You're really short"

"Shut up" I smack his leg. "I'm fun sized. Besides, we can't all be 6'4… Sasquatch" I tell him. He smacks my ass as punishment. "Sooner or later, you'll figure out that I like that. It's not punishment" I tell him with a smug look on my face.

"Well, I'll just have to figure out a way then" he says as he continues his assault on my neck while ghosting his hand up my bare thigh and the other finds itself in my hair.

"Bella?" "Huh?"

"Continue" he says as his hands stop. I can feel him smiling against my neck.

He got me

"Fine" I huff. "The shoe closet is closest to the garage door" I say as I open the door, turn on the light and complete the gesture with my best Vanna White impersonation. I hear Edward laughing.

"You still have that wreck you had in high school?"

"Don't talk about Bessie" I say as I cross my arms over my chest and pout. "We've been through tough times"

"Does it still run?"

"No"

"Then why do you still have it?"

"It has sentimental value. I drove from Atlanta to L.A. in that truck. It didn't die until shortly after I arrived here. It's like she knew I had to get here. Sometimes, I just look at it. She lets me know how far I've come."

"In that case, Bessie is just fine with me" he says as I pull the door shut.

"Moving on" I say, making my back to the main hallway. "This is the kitchen." The kitchen is by far my favorite part of the house. It has a mixture of light dark hardwood floors that matches the cabinets with restaurant quality appliances with an island with a wooden countertop. It's amazing. "This is my favorite part of the house. Obviously, I spend a lot of time in here baking you treats" I smile.

"Mmm" he growls. "Do you have anything?"

"Just ice cream. Want some?" I ask as I make my way to the refrigerator. "Sure. What kind?" he asks as he steps behind me.

"We have chocolate chunk, vanilla, and birthday cake?"

"What's in birthday cake?"

"It's vanilla, cake bites, sprinkles, and an icing ribbon. I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck a couple crack rocks in there too because this shit is addictive" he starts to chuckle and I join him. "It's impossible to have one scoop."

"Sounds delicious"

"It is" I say as I go off to get the ice cream ready. After I get the ice cream in the bowls, I notice that Edward in my living room staring at the pictures on my mantle.

"That's my family" I say, referring to a picture we took a couple of years ago at Christmas that I see him studying. "Mom, Dad, Gran, Daniel, and David" I point them out as I hop on the island countertop in the kitchen.

"The torture twins?" he laughs. "They don't look that diabolical" he says.

"That's how they get you. You never expect them. It's like whenever we're in the same house, we regress back to childhood. It's scary. That Christmas was the worst." I say as I point to the picture. "2007."

"What happened?" he asks, genuinely interested.

"It was a prank gone awry. We accidently set fire to a patch of woods behind my parents' house. They had to call the fire department before it started a forest fire. I'm surprised we weren't arrested for arson."

"Damn. It sounds like you had an… adventurous childhood" he laughs.

"You mean crazy? It's okay. You can say it" I laugh as he heads back to the kitchen to get his ice cream.

"If you say so" he counters as he stops to stand between my legs. "What's a typical night for you?"

"You're experiencing it" I tell him as I blush. "I'm kinda boring. I just lounge around and listen to music."

"What kind?" he asks. "I like getting to know little things about you"

"I'll show you" I hop off of the counter and look in a nearby drawer for my iPod. Once I find it, I walk back and reclaim my seat and plug the player into the dock station. "I know you like classical music, Mr. Cullen" I playfully say. "While I respect that I, however, am a jazz girl." I finish as I start my playlist.

"Cool" he says as he begins to sway his head to the music. "Coltrane?" he guesses as he takes a bite of ice cream.

"Very good" I congratulate as I take a spoonful of ice cream and close my eyes. Sometimes, I just like to hear the music.

"Beautiful" Edward whispers.

"I know" I say as I open my eyes to find him staring at me.

"I wasn't talking about the music" he says as he scoots me further towards the edge of the counter, making the bottom of my dress gather at my waist. I wrap my leg around his hip, closing the short gap between us as he presses his lips to mine. Our kiss starts out sweet and simple and quickly turns needy as I lick his bottom lip, gaining access to his mouth as he sucks my tongue into his mouth while grinding his growing erection into my lace covered core.

From then on, it's moans, groans, and grinds that shoot straight to my aching center. I start to kiss my way down Edward's neck until he takes a fistful of my hair, effectively stopping me as his lips begin to travel from my mouth, to my neck and down to my chest. I run my hands under his shirt, feeling his stomach muscles tense under my touch. He lifts his hands and I make short work of his shirt, throwing it to the side and continue to feel his abs under my fingers as I tenderly place kisses everywhere I can reach. "Fuck, Bella" he hisses as he begins to kiss along the tops of my heaving breasts and sticks his tongue down between my cleavage as his hands start to travel up my bare back in what I find is a search for the clasp of my dress.

I reach behind my neck and unhook my dress, my eyes never leaving Edward's. He slowly pulls down the straps, letting the pieces of material pool at my waist exposing my bare chest. He takes a small step back and slowly takes me in. I blush at his gazing. "Damn, you blush everywhere" he smirks, as he kisses his way down my chest to take one of my erect peaks into his mouth while kneading the other breasts before rolling my nipple with his thumb and index finger before lavishing the other breast with his ministrations.

"Edward" I regain my voice as I whisper into his ear as my back arches and I bite my lip in satisfaction. I trail my hands down his abs until I reach his basketball shorts. I tug them to the ground while Edward kicks them off his feet, revealing his prominent bulge. I reach my hand inside his boxers and grasp his erection, earning a hiss from Edward as he bucks his hips into my hand. "Just feel" I say as I begin to stroke him. As my pace quickens, he rests his forehead against mine. I take my other hand and guide his mouth towards mine, engulfing him in a kiss, matching the rhythm of my tongue to the rhythm of my hand.

"Shit" he says as he stops my hands. "Where is your bedroom?" he asks, picking me up while I wrap my legs around his waist. "Upstairs. Second door on the right." I tell him as he starts his way upstairs. Once we reach my room, he sets me down in front of him and unzips the rest of my dress, revealing the small lace thong I'd been wearing under my dress. We stumble our way across the room until I feel the base of the bed at my knees. I crawl into the bed, with Edward behind me. He turns me over saying, "Ladies first" when he begins kiss, lick, and suck his way down my body until he reaches my panties. He hooks his fingers under the thin pieces of lace and ghosts his fingers against my hips as he pulls them down and throws them over his shoulder. "Fuck, you're bare" he growls as he takes my legs in his hands and starts to message them placing kisses on the ankles, making his way down to wear I need him.

"You're so wet" he tells me as he ghosts his fingers along my slit.

"For you" I say to him as I buck my hips.

He whispers, "Bella" as he takes a languid lick over my center, until he reaches my clit and sucks it into his mouth, only to have him thrust one of his long fingers inside me moments later. "Fuck" I shout as I grab the sheets and look down to see green eyes staring at me and Edward's auburn hair between my legs . The sight sends me closer to my peak as Edward adds another finger and begins to curl them, sending me to the brink of insanity. "Edward, Edward, Edward" I chant as his fingers and mouth work to give me pleasure while his mouth replaces his fingers as I feel his digits begin to message my clit. "Oh God! I'm gonna cum" I shout as I feel my walls immediately contract around his tongue, sending me flying off of the ledge and I've never felt higher. I close my eyes and focus on the feel of Edward lapping up my juices.

I'm pretty sure I blacked out.

I open my eyes, to find Edward gazing into my eyes before he attacks my mouth. I can taste myself on him. "See how good you taste?" he asks as he continues his assault on my mouth. "Mmhmm" I moan as I turn him over. I hadn't had much experience with this. I never really liked giving blowjobs. It always felt like an obligation. But, sitting on top of Edward after he has given me the best orgasm of my life has awakened something in me. I want to please him in every way possible. I need to make him feel as good as I felt.

"My turn" I say against his lips as I begin to make my way down his torso, leaving a trail of kisses in my wake. "You don' have to" he tells me as he stares into my eyes. "But I want to" I say as I lick my way down his abs as I run my thumbs over the 'V' of his pelvis until I reach a trail of bronze curls. I run my fingers over the elastic as he raises his hips, helping me get his boxers off. 'Wow' I though as I took in Edward's cock. It's long, thick and perfect. Is there anything about him that isn't? I lick him from base to tip before taking him in my mouth as far as he could go and start licking and sucking up and down in a rhythm while stroking what I couldn't fit. "Oh…shit" Edward gasped as he bucks his hips against me. I begin to message his balls with my other hand, earning a loud growl from him. "I can't beli…Bam…Bell" he rambles as I continue my ministration. "I'm gonna cum" he tells me as I pick up my pace. "Fuck!" he shouts as I feel his seed shoot into my mouth. I greedily take all he has to give me.

I slowly start crawling up Edward's body until he pulls me up into an astounding kiss as he lays me on my side.

"Bella. That was…awesome" he says with a far off look on his face that turns into his signature crooked smile. "Thank you"

"You're welcome" I tell him as I ruffle his already messy hair. "You weren't so bad yourself."

He starts to snuggle me close to his chest and places a kiss in my hair. I couldn't help but blush at what had taken place tonight. Then, it seemed like all of my emotions hit me at once.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks as he tilts my head towards him.

"Just… stuff" I say, shrugging my shoulders. I don't want serious talk to jam our flow.

"You don't regret what happened… do you?" he asks carefully.

"No. Not at all. I just feel different. You make me feel different." I confide.

"How?" he asks as he rests his head on his fist.

"I want to dress sexy for you. You know, the whole hair and makeup deal. I want to try new things. I w-want things with you." I start. Stop. STOP NOW! "I know I joke around all the time, but I'm serious about this… about us. I give everything my all. I don't date for sport. I just feel different and… vulnerable" I finish.

There. I said it

I tilt my head away and divert my eyes, not wanting to see the reaction on his face.

"Hey" he says as he turns me to face him. "I want this too. I want you." He says, while he eyes stare into mine. "Besides, I play for keeps" he smiles as he opens his arms, an invitation that I willingly accept. We sit there, in comfortable silence for what seems like forever… or maybe 15 minutes. I notice that Edward still has the same dopey smile on his face. Then, it hit me.

"You're thinking about Crotchgate, aren't you?" I ask him with a slight giggle.

"Yep" he says, as he pops the 'p'

"Dork" I yawn as I playfully pinch his nipple.

Right before I fell asleep, I realized that I was in love with Edward Cullen.


	12. Chapter 12

EPOV

When Bella invited to spend the night over her house, I jumped at the opportunity. I quickly changed clothes, packed a bag and went over. I might have been a little too eager, since I ended up having to wait 30 minutes outside in my car waiting for her to show up. I only said 10 because I didn't want to look like a stalker. I hope that she didn't see through my bluff.

That would be embarrassing.

I couldn't contain my grin as she showed me the key to her house. I made a mental note to take it and make a copy. After receiving a tour in Bella fashion, we hung out and I got to learn more about her. I love learning little stuff about her all the time. I had a feeling that I'd be learning about her for a long time.

When I was parked outside of Bella's house, I wondered on what would happen. This lead me right here, lying next to her, after getting the best blowjob followed

by experiencing the most powerful orgasm of my life. I came so hard, I lost the

feeling in my legs. However, hearing Bella tell me that she wanted us to work trumped it all. I loved how honest she was. I feel the same way. For the first time, I actually want a relationship to reach the finish line.

I feel vulnerable too

It was a breath of fresh air to see her actually act serious. I notice the sound of her level breathing and begin to stare at her. She snuggles into my arms and begins to smile. I place a light kiss on her forehead and run my fingers through her hair. She looks so peaceful and happy. I like to think that I have some influence on that. As I begin to doze off, I hear something.

"Mmm, I love you Edward" she mumbles as she turns around to get more comfortable.

She loves me? She loves me!

Even though she said it in her sleep, I like to hope that she means it in her heart. I've loved her since I could remember. The possibility that she could feel the same way in incredible.

"I love you too" I whisper in her ear as I kiss her gently in the crook of her neck. "Yaaaaay" she smiles as snuggles into me further. "That's nice"

I laugh when I realize that I am having a conversation with her while she's sleeping. This is too weird. Does she even know what she's saying?

Wait a minute…

"Bella?" "Hmm?"

"What was your pageant talent?" I ask as I lean closer, sure that I will be victorious.

"Not even in my sleep, fucker" she mumbles with a little laugh. I giggle at her reply. It must be really embarrassing for her to be so guarded about it. It will make finding out so much better.

After I feel that I have stared at her sufficiently, I go to sleep with a smile on my face and have the best night of sleep I've ever had.

I wake up the next morning with the sun's glare shining into my face. I look over at the clock to see that it's 8:45.

Damn, I slept in

Usually, I wake up around 6. I'm just programmed that way. I must have been really tired. I run out to my car quickly to get my bag. On the way back to the house, I grab Bella's spare key, put it on my key ring and step back inside. I take a shower once and change into a t shirt and some jeans and notice that Bella is still asleep. I decided to go downstairs and try to make something edible. I'm not the best cook in the world, so I figure that it would be a challenge.

A+ for effort right?

There are only 2 Eggos in a box, so that was out. I wasn't foolish to think toast, eggs, and bacon would suffice. Bella could probably eat a whole loaf by herself. How does she stay so thin? So, I figured that I could just make waffles. They can't be that hard. I went back into Bella's room, found a recipe, printed it out and noticed that after all the noise I just made, she was still sleep.

Wow

As I turn around to leave, I hear Bella mumbling something. I step closer to hear what she's saying.

"No, Riley" she mumbles.

Who the fuck is Riley?

"It's mine too" she says in a sad tone. She tosses over to the other side. I don't hear anything else. "Monkeys, Alligators, Lions" she added making me figure that she was having a dream. I left her in the room to finish breakfast.

I stick the recipe to the refrigerator and start to gather the ingredients. As I begin to mix the batter, I hear a familiar sound of heavy breathing.

Cujo

I slowly turn around to see Bella's dog. He's sitting outside the kitchen area, staring into my soul. I'm scared. I remembered what Bella said about him only being hostile once he first meets someone, so I figured that we would be okay the next

time I came over. I was wrong. For some reason, this dog hates my guts. He refuses to come anywhere near me. Bella says he just needs more time to warm up to me. I step closer and make an attempt to pet him. He moves his head away from my reach, his eyes staring at me the whole time. He didn't even blink. He takes a big breath and turns his head again when I try to pet him with my other hand.

Did he just roll his eyes? Fine! I don't like you either!

After I tried a third time, he walked away, opened the door to the basement and went downstairs. I didn't know dogs could open doors.

Smart dog…still an asshole

**Captain's POV (LOL)**

Who is that red headed fuck and why is he here ALL THE TIME? Jeez! If his seemingly constant presence weren't enough, he hogs Bella. She's not around enough as it is. Now, when this guy is here, I barely get a good tummy rub. Then, he has the nerve to act inconvenienced by me?

Fucker

He's not a bad guy. He just needs to learn how to share. The first night I met the guy, he acted very inappropriate. He just came in here and started groping Bella. I almost killed him. Then I figured out that she liked it. I was okay with that. Then, when I had to go to the bathroom, he growled…fucking growled at me when I pulled on Bella's leg to take me outside. I thought I was the animal in the house.

I admit, I may have been a little harsh on our first meeting, but I was protecting Bella. I think I may have heard him call me Cujo…asshole. How dare he compare me to that beast? I am a trained police dog.

He's lucky I didn't bite his leg.

Well, at least he isn't one of those druggies. He would have walked out of here missing a leg. Then, I'd really be fucked.

I tell you one thing, he better not fuck with my donut when Alice gets here or we're gonna have a problem.

EPOV

I get back to work on the waffles and I hear the door open.

"Bella, where are the fucking aspirin?" I hear as Rosalie and Alice walk into the kitchen.

"Oh" Alice says with a smirk on her face. "What do we have here?" she adds ,giggling.

"Yes. What a strange turn of events" Rose laughs to herself as she starts to rifle through the cabinets in what I presume is a search for Advil as Alice grabs a plastic Ziploc bag, fills it with ice, and places it on her head under her headband.

"Hangover?" I ask.

"Yep. A killer one" Alice mumbles as she sets a paper bag on the counter. "But you gotta admit. That was a top night" Rose laughs.

"Definitely. One for the books. But what happened after…" Alice laughs before she can finish.

"Shut up, bitch. I swore you to secrecy. What's for breakfast? It smells good" she turns to me as she finishes.

"Waffles, bacon and eggs." I tell them as I start to whisk the eggs in a bowl. "He cooks" Alice says as she pours herself a glass of grape juice.

"Not really" I laugh. "I printed a recipe off the internet"

"At your house? The only computer in this house is the one in Bella's room." Rose says.

"Uh…no" I say confused. Why would I print something at my house? "I went in Bella's room when she was sleeping, and got it off her computer."

Alice and Rose give each other a strange look and turn to me at the same time. "Bullshit" they say in unison.

"No way you got that from Bella's room when she was sleeping." "I shit you not" I tell them.

"Come on" Rose commands. "I gotta see this" she adds as she takes me upstairs with Alice on our heels. "Okay" she starts. "Go to the closet and come back" she orders with a grin on her face.

"Okay" I walk and come back. Alice has a look of awe on her face. "Do it again" she giggles as she jumps up and down.

"Fine" I huff as I walk to the closet…again. To emphasize the craziness of this request, I run back to where they are. "I don't understand guys. What's so funny?" I ask as I lean on the doorframe."

I'm lost

"You wanna know what's funny?" Rose asks. "This is" she says as she pushes Alice in the room. As soon as Alice's feet touch the hardwood flooring in Bella's room, Bella shoots out of bed.

"Who's there?" she shouts as she turns to face Alice. "What the fuck?" she asks as she takes all of us in.

"Told ya" Rose whispers.

"What time is it?" Bella asks.

"9:30"

"Shit. I overslept."

"It's okay" I tell her as I make my way over to her. "Take a shower and get dressed. I'm making waffles." I say as I give her quick kiss.

"Yay" she says as she wraps the sheet around her and heads to the bathroom. I head back downstairs a little confused.

"What was that?" I ask no one in particular.

"Bella can't sleep with other people in the room. Not since like… ever" Alice says.

"This is… interesting" Rose tells me. "She must really like you. I've never seem her be able to relax like that" I smile at this fact.

That's good… right?

I start on breakfast and make small talk with the ladies. They seem to be really cool. I understand how Jazz and Em could like them. Sooner or later, I hear Captain come back . He heads directly to Alice and Rose. They both ruffle his hair and dote on him. He eats it up.

Ladies man, are we?

When Alice takes him out to use the bathroom, Rose hops onto the bar by the stove.

"Bella really likes you" she starts.

"I really like Bella too" I tell her. More than like

"That's good, because she's a good person. She sees past the obvious. Not many people do that."

Where is this headed?

"I know. That's what I like about her. There is always something to learn." "That's good. I mean, most people wouldn't have hired someone with a record to be their agent. You know, trust issues." She laughs.

What?

"What?" I ask.

"Bella didn't tell you?" I shake my head. "That's right. She wouldn't. She's not that kind of person."

"Tell me what?" I ask. I had a curiosity as to what Rose could have done to get arrested. Yeah, she's hard core. I just didn't think she was that hard core.

"I dated this guy named Royce when I was a kid. I was 17. He was 21. That should have been a giveaway. What guy wants a girl that young? Anyway, he was the perfect catch. He had money, looks and social standing. He was the closest thing to royalty in Conneticut. My parents loved him, of course. The problem was, he was a real asshole" she huffs.

"Anyway, I invited him to meet my parents. It was their anniversary. Things are going well, until Royce started to drink. Too much. Things escalated really fast. I don't really remember who said what to whom. The only thing I remember was the image of Royce punching my mother in the face."

This shocked me and I felt my hands clench into fists. Any man who'd lay a finger on a woman wasn't a man at all. Rose noticed my anger, shook her head.

"Let me finish. Do you wanna know what happened next?" I nod my head as she begins to continue.

"Now, I never had a stellar relationship with my mother. She's pretentious and judgmental. But she's still my mother and I love her in spite of her flaws. And the image of her curled up body on the floor and my dad hovering over her as she cried made something snap. I was furious. Not only did he hit my mother. He hit her in my parent's house and was cocky enough to think that he'd get away with it. Now you know me well enough to gather that it wouldn't sit well with me."

" So…" I encourage her.

"My father is a baseball fan. Since I am an only child, he'd teach me how to pitch and swing at a ball. It's our father/daughter thing. Well, I took my daddy's Louisville Slugger off of the wall in his den. It was signed by Mark McGuire" she laughs. "Then, I tapped Royce on the shoulder and broke that bat over his face. I shattered it to pieces."

"It knocked him out cold. I guess my dad taught me too well. He ended up in a coma for a week. I'm lucky I was a minor. I got 6 months in a juvenile detention center. I was lucky to get that. My parents know people."

"Do you know the moral of this story Edward?" she asks. "Umm…"

"I protect my family. Bella and I are closer than sisters. She's my best friend. Which means that I protect her. She took a chance on me and now, I'm one of the top dogs in my field. I wouldn't have that if it weren't for her. So I owe her…big time. So what I'm saying is that I hope for your sake more than Bella's that you really do like her and you really do love learning new things about her. Because if you're acting so you can fulfill some high school fantasy of your 16 year old self, I won't want to be you. Because I won't care about my image, who you are, or the fact that you're Emmett's best friend. I. Will. Fuck. You. Up." She says as she stares into my eyes. "Got it?"

I believe her

"Well" I start. "If I hurt Bella, I'll buy you a bat myself." I tell her. She smiles and pats my back.

"Just what I wanna hear" she says as she hops off the bar and grabs an apple off the bar. "Don't worry. I told Emmett. He thought it was bad ass" she laughs.

"He would" I laugh with her, ridding the tensions and awkwardness.

"I didn't mean to offend you. I have to let you know how I feel. A heartbroken Bella is not a good sight. I just wish I'd known her before-"

Before what?

"Mmmm" I hear Bella sigh as she enters the kitchen. "It smells good, baby" she says as she wraps her arms around my waist and gives me a good morning kiss. She has on black jeans with zippers all around, a Sex Pistols t shirt and converses.

Sexy

"Thank you. It's almost ready."

"Okay. I'll go get Alice and Captain" Rose says as she heads out the back door. "I can't believe you cooked" she tells me as she presses me against the counter

and molds her lips to mine. For the moments when our lips and tongues move in perfect harmony, it feels as though nothing else matters.

I love kissing this woman

"I love kissing you" she says with a smile as we break for air.

"Took the words out of my mouth." I laugh as she rests her head on my chest. "Do you research ways to make yourself even more perfect than you are?" "Nope. I just like making you happy." I say as I kiss her nose. She blushes. "and blush" I add.

"It continues" she adds as Rose, Alice and Cujo re enter the room.

"Hey guys" she says as she hugs the girls and bends down to ruffle Cujo's hair. He snuggles into her side and starts to circle around her.

"Who's a good boy?" she asks. He barks in response. "That's right" she says.

She sits down, followed by the girls and the dog takes his place at Bella's side on the floor. Breakfast is finally ready and we all set the table and start to dig in. Breakfast was pretty uneventful. After we start to clean the kitchen, Alice grabbed a bag off of the counter.

"Oh yeah," she mentions. "Me and Rose grabbed some donuts on the way over" she says as they all grab one and take a bite. I notice that there's only one left, so I grab the last one as I make my way to the sink to load dishes into the washer. I hear Cujo growl from behind me. I figure he's getting his ears scratched or something.

"Captain, NO!" I hear Bella yell.

I turn around to see what's she's yelling about, only to see Bella's beast barreling towards me from across the kitchen. I put my arm up to protect my face.

That's the money maker

The beast runs towards me, jumps on his hind legs and pushes me into the corner between the toaster and the oven and continues to bark loudly while biting at my hands.

"Captain, Stop!" Bella shouts as she runs over and tries to pull him off.

"Police brutality" I randomly call out. Bella momentarily gives me a 'WTF' look and starts to laugh. Then she remembered her dog was trying to kill me.

"Sit!. Down! STOP!" she yells. He won't budge.

Knowing that I'm going to die, I throw my face into my hands while thinking of all the things I'll never get to do. As the donut falls from my hands, Cujo eats it before it hits the floor and ceases his assassination attempt. He calmly walks, like he didn't just try to eat me 10 seconds ago, opens the door and goes back downstairs.

Was that a doggie cough or a laugh? Asshole.

**Captain's POV**

Bitch

**EPOV**

"Oh my God," Bella says as she checks me for injuries. "I'm so sorry. Are you hurt? He's never done that before" she adds as she grabs a first aid kit from under the sink.

"I'm alright" I tell her. "I told you he hates me."

"Sorry" Alice says. "That might be my fault. I normally give him a donut. He might have thought you took his."

"Cops and donuts. How cliché" Rose giggles.

What? That made no sense. We all had the same type of donut. He just didn't want me to have one.

Evil.

"Wow" Bella says. "What an…interesting breakfast" she sighs. "This is why I'm never bored." She tells me.

"Damn, I love coming over your house, B." Rose laughs. "You can't write shit like that."

Before I could say anything, I felt a buzz in my pocket. I checked my text message.

**Emmett: Dude, meeting in 30.**

** Edward: I'm coming.**

**Emmett: Eww!**

** Edward: Child**

I laugh and realize that I've lost track of time.

"I gotta go" I say to Bella as I give her a quick kiss.

"I have a meeting with Emmett in 30. Loose ends."

"Okay" she says with a pout. "I'll walk you out."

We walk the short journey to the door hand in hand. "I really liked having you sleep over."

"I liked being over." I tell her as I tilt her chin up and place a kiss on her lips.

"God, I can't get enough of that" she sighs. "Am I going to see you before you leave for New York?" she asks me. I was leaving on Tuesday. To be honest, I was packed solid until then. I hated the thought of not being able to see her for an entire

10 days. "I mean I totally understand if you have to do something."

I'll make time

"Of course. I couldn't leave without personally saying goodbye. How's Monday?" I

ask her.

"Okay" she blushes.

"See you then" I tell her as I wave. "Bye"

"Bye" she replies. She watches me from the doorway as I get in my car. As I drive off, I receive a text message.

Bella: Police Brutality? Edward: I'm filing a report. Bella: LOL

Damn, I love this woman. Even if her dog is an asshole

After I arrived for my meeting with Emmett, we talked about what scenes were being redone in greater detail and also discussed our living arrangements as well. The rest of the crew was there, including Lauren. This time, she felt the need to bring her agent. They kept looking at me funny during the entire meeting, staring and glaring. It was awkward to say the least. During the weekend, they released the trailer for the movie and it got pretty good feedback. I was excited about it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take Bella out like I wanted to. We had to settle for a couple of hours eating pizza and watching t.v. I felt like part of a normal relationship. Sometimes, I feel guilty that I can't take her to nice places, for fear for our privacy. However, she assures me that she doesn't care. She told me that we'd still talk, but ten days still felt like an entire lifetime.

It's TEN days!

The past few days went by in a blur. Now, I'm on my way to the airport to go to New York. Emmett is taking the next flight out. As I step on the private plane, I am surprised to see Jane, Aro and Lauren on it. I thought I was riding by myself.

Something is going on here


	13. Chapter 13

**BPOV**

After I realized that I loved Edward, I had the best night's sleep I've ever had. I always felt that when I fell in love again, I'd be scared or skeptical. I'm surprised that I'm not. I mean, whenever you start to gain feelings for someone those feelings normally show themselves. However, happiness overshadows those feelings. The feeling of falling asleep in Edward's arms, surrounded by his scent is indescribable. I felt at peace, wrapped around the man I loved while dreaming about him. Next thing, I wake up to Alice being literally thrown into my room by Rose's strong ass.

She needs to stop lifting weights

It was then that I grasped the fact that Edward was in my room. Awake… while I was sleeping.

That hasn't happened in a long time

I haven't been able to sleep with another person in my room since my brothers decided that it would be funny to cut my bangs off while I slept when I was 10. It has made for some interesting stories and awkward conversations. Needless to say, my freshman college roommate and I didn't get along.

Bitch

In my opinion, you are most vulnerable when you're asleep. Your defenses, both physical and logical, are exposed. Vulnerable. I hate that feeling. I always have. It took a lot for me to admit to Edward that he made me feel this way, but I felt he needed to admitting to myself that I felt this way, I gave Edward the power to hurt me. Because, when you're vulnerable, it's easy to get hurt. My father taught me that.

Riley taught me that

I sit in the bathroom, letting the water heat up for my shower as I think about how I got here. As I step in, I let the water wash away the sudden somber feelings and I remembered what a good night I had and good morning I was having. After I'm done getting ready, I head back downstairs to the kitchen. Edward looks like he's gonna shit himself.

What happened?

I decide to let it go, for now, and get to the bottom of it later.

I stare like Edward when he isn't looking and feel 16 again. How did I get so lucky? Not only is he beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. Most people only see him at the outset as a result of his looks. But, there is so much more to him. Looking at him cooking breakfast, and talking to me and my friends, I can help but hope that things will stay this way.

For a second, I thought we were having a lovely normal breakfast. Then Captain almost killed Edward over a donut. Really. That happened. For some reason, they just don't get along. I have no idea why. It's probably a man thing.

After a pretty lengthy goodbye at the door, God that man can kiss, I'm assaulted by Rose and Alice asking questions.

"What was he doing here?"

"What happened?"

Their faces switch from curious, to anxious, to excited in less than 4 seconds. It's really funny. I had to laugh.

"What's up with you guys?" I ask through my laughter. "He spent the night. We missed each other." I shrug as I head off to the kitchen.

"Don't laugh at us" Rose orders as she pinches my arm. Hard.

"Fuck, Rose" I shout as I rub my arm. " If you're going to continue being abusive, I'm going to need for you to stop pumping iron."

"What do you mean you missed him? You saw him twice yesterday." Alice points out.

"Well… I couldn't hold him or kiss him or anything" I say sheepishly. "I wanted Edward time. Sue me" I challenge playfully as I sit down.

"Aww" Alice smiles as her eyes light up. "You love him. You're in love with Edward Cullen. And he loves you too! This is so amazing. You two are going to have super hot babies" she squeals.

"Woah" I say as I hold my hands up. "I think it's a little soon for all of that." I chuckle. "Besides, who describes a baby as hot? That's weird."

"You know what I meant" she says as she rolls her eyes.

"Besides, how do I know if he feels the same way?"

"Oh. So you do love him?" Rose asks.

"I didn't say that"

"You implied it. You acknowledged Alice's 'you love him, he loves you' statement. Then you admitted to not knowing if he loved you. Therefore, confirming that you are, in fact, head over hills for Edward" she tells me in her 'duh' voice.

Damn those lawyer skills

"Are you my agent or a prosecutor?" I laugh.

"Answer the question, Ms. Swan" she replies in her Law & Order voice. "Yeah" I say, feeling the blood and heat rush to my cheeks.

Cue squeal

"I knew it" Alice jumps up. "It's so romantic. I'm so happy for you."

"It's so soon." I confide. "I mean, we've been together what… a month and a half. Am I crazy?"

"Love is crazy. I love Jasper and I've only known him the same amount of time. You just know" she smiles as she hugs me.

"Yeah. I think I love Emmett. I mean, he's basically a toddler, but I've never felt this way about another man. You gotta admit. I get bored easily. I would have dropped him like a bad habit if he were anybody else." Rose adds with a smile and joins in on the hug.

"It's just… I've never felt this way. Everything I've felt before in a relationship pales in comparison. I don't know what I'd do if it didn't work out." I tell them.

"Pfft. Please" Alice scoffs. "Edward loves you. He's so far gone, you might as well start picking out china patterns" she laughs.

"Yeah" Rose adds. "I see it. Plus, I put the fear of God in that man. There's no way he'd fuck you over. I'll go Barry Bonds on his ass" she laughs.

Oh God. She didn't

"You told him the Louisville Slugger story. Didn't you?" I ask her.

That's why he was shitting bricks at breakfast

"Yep. I had to set him straight. No one messes with my sister" she says as she shrugs her shoulder against me. "I'll be damned if you go through another Riley."

"Who's that?" Alice asks, filling the room with emotion. Anger from Rose. Regret from me.

Riley. That son of a bitch. I hadn't that about him in years. At least not him. Every time I do, I can't help but get a little angry… at myself. It would be easy to blame him for what happened while we were together, but I take responsibility as well for the choices I made during our relationship, even if they were made under the false hopes of a naive teenager. Rose always tells me that I wouldn't be where I am today if I never met him. To a degree, I think she's right. But, that doesn't make me feel any better. Sometimes, I wonder where I'd be today if I'd made different choices. Honestly, I don't know. All I do know is that you live, you learn and try not to make the same mistakes twice.

To be honest, that's why I laugh for a living. Because nine years ago, laughing kept me from crying.

I'd built a wall surrounding what happened. Now that I had Edward, it seemed like the universe is somehow forcing me to relive everything.

"You know, an ex boyfriend…a skeleton in the closet. No big deal."

"No big deal?" Rose asks. "How can you say that? I never met the prick and I want his balls on my keychain!"

"What happened?" Alice asks.

"Poor choices" I tell her. "I don't feel like talking about it. We're having a nice day."

"Oh" was her reply.

I could tell Alice didn't like not being outside the loop. However, I was not in the mood to talk about it.

"Bella-"

"Rose" I interrupt. "Listen. I'm over Riley. I may not be over what happened. But, I'm definitely over him."

"Did you tell Edward?"

"No"

"You should"

"I know. I'm scared to."

"You shouldn't be. He'll understand." She says as she looks me in my eyes and grabs my hand.

For a second, the three of us just sit in silence staring… until Alice hugged me.

"I know I don't know what happened. But, I'm sorry someone hurt you. You're the nicest, kindest and funniest person I've ever known and you have a great heart. When you're ready, I'll listen. Edward will too. He loves you." She adds.

"Thanks, pixie" I say as I hug her back.

"On a lighter note…" she adds, while pulling out a magazine. "Look!" she screams as she throws it on the table

I look in the magazine and see a picture of me from last night in it. It's one of those 'Who Wore It Best?' questions with me and Lauren Mallory.

_Wow. Dangerous curves ahead! It seems that Isa'Bella' Swan left the usual jeans and t shirt at home to step out in this lovely Gucci bandage dress for the celebration of the Halfsies finale. She pairs the stunning shade of blue with nude colored shoes and accessories, letting this gorgeous dress with her killer curves do most of the talking. A+_

_Lauren Mallory, on the other hand, pairs the dress with a thick belt and matching accessories, effectively clashing the outfit with the vast difference in shades. We won't even start on the hair and makeup. C- (that's generous)_

"See" Alice tells me. "98% of the people think you looked hotter than she did."

"Eh" I shrug my shoulders. "I looked okay"

"Cut the modest act" Rose orders. "You looked hot and you knew it. All the guys were staring at you."

"I thought Edward was going to break a beer bottle over Mike Newton's head" Alice laughs.

"Yeah. Edward looked like he wanted to eat you."

"He probably did" Alice giggles.

"Ooookay. Enough" I try to reroute the conversation. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Have you decided on what projects you'd like to do?" Rose asks.

"I want to do all of them. But, I know I can't" I pout. "Any suggestions? Help me. Pleeeaase?" I channel my inner first grader.

"Don't try the pout." Alice tells me. "That's my thing. I should have it copyrighted" she mumbles as she makes her thinking face.

"You should. That shit could achieve world peace if you did it enough." I laugh.

"Back to work" Rose says. "Personally, I'm thinking Digital Girls and Anyone but You. Garrett Anderson, the guy who wrote the Making a Man…major nutjob. He's writing the script himself. So far, it's the eighth draft of it. The studio can't cast until; it's done. I'm guessing it'll be after award season until it's finished. You'll be done filming those two by then anyway. That's if you agree to my logic."

"Which is?" I ask. I trust Rose. I've gotten this far by listening to her. I know she knows what she's doing and has my best interest at heart.

"At first I didn't want you to do Digital Girls. You've just released a musical this year. I don't want your roles to get repetitive." Good point. "But, before I could tell the studio that, they'd already cast the main parts anyway."

"So what part would I play?"

"Jehnna Styx"

I couldn't help but laugh at that part. When I first read the script, I thought she was the funniest character. She claims to be this "rock goddess" but really she's a pop star. She's married to this hardcore rock guy. Whenever they're in a scene, everything goes to shit and one of them gets arrested. She just doesn't have a lot of screen time. I never thought Rose would go for it.

"What's funny?"

"I thought she was hilarious."

"Anyway, I know you'd only be in the movie for a combined 15 minutes, but honestly, I know you'd steal the movie if you did that part. Wanna know what else?" she asks as if she's vibrating with excitement.

She's been hanging around Alice too long

"What?"

"They want you so bad, I got you 3.5 million for 15 minutes as well as 50% of the iTune profits from the songs you'd sing on the soundtrack… which is 3 by the way."

Damn

"I know" she gloats. "I'm awesome. The thing is, they're already starting production. You'd have to record the tracks in 2 weeks, be on set in like 3 weeks and shoot for 1 week. Two weeks tops. So?"

I sit in silence, thinking over my options. That's not a lot of time.

Fuck it

"Sign me up" I say, causing Rose to smile and Alice to jump up and down. "Excellent. As far as Anyone But You goes, it's funny and it's a Judd Apatow movie. Guaranteed hit."

"Let's go shopping!" Alice shouts, still jumping.

"No thanks. Just because I'm getting money doesn't mean I have to spend it."

"Haven't you heard of the phrase 'live a little?" she replies.

"Have you heard of M.C. Hammer?" I ask. "And 'you can't touch' my money!" I laugh.

Give it up. That was funny.

"Pleeeaaase?" she asks, pulling out the pout. I close my eyes and turn my head.

Must….resist…pout

"No" I say. "Besides, Rose has to go to work." I smile.

"No, I don't. I schedule one day off a month. It's today." Rose says with a shit eating grin. Alice starts to pout again. My defenses were down.

Damn

"Fiiiine" I give up. "But we can't be there all day like last time. My life flashed before my eyes."

"Yes!" Alice says. " I can't wait. I saw this dress that I've been dying to get you in. It's lace with-"

_I like girls_

_They like me_

_They look so good_

_In they seven jeans_

_Want you to be the one_

_And my only_

_I want to be faithful_

_But I can't keep my hands out the cookie jar_

The chorus from Gym Class Heroes' Cookie Jar starts to ring from my phone and I immediately know who it is. I race upstairs to grab my phone.

"Heeelllloooo" I say in my fake English accent.

"Top of tha morning to ya" my brother Daniel replies in his customary faux Irish accent

"Hey" "Bunny!" "Honey" "Beya!"

It seems as though my entire family has decided to conference call me. We do these every once in a while. We tried that OoVoo shit once. It led to disaster.

"Hey guys!" I shout excitedly. It's always nice to hear from them all at once. "How's everyone doing?"

I hear a chorus of "okay, good, fine," and other greetings.

"Well," my mom starts, "we wanted to call you after the show was over, but we knew you'd be going out so…" she leads.

"My grandotta was de prettiest guhl on de screen. I didn't notis any of the other ones…especially that slutty bitch you don't like with da chipmunk face" GranAnne says with pride.

"And we just wanted to tell you that you were great… and we love you…" she starts to sniffle. " and we miss you… "

"Was that Cullen boy supposed to grab your ass? I didn't like that shit. Not one bit" my dad interrupts.

"I guess you can call it improving" I say.

"Improving my ass. You should have improved your foot up his ass!" he shouts.

"Shut up, boy" GranAnne says. "It's Edward Cullen. What guhl wouldn't want to get molested in that situation" she asks him, her thick island accent shining through. "She should have added tongue."

"Mom" my dad says somberly. "Eww. Just…Eww"

"Come on, Dad" Daniel enters the conversation. "I know I'm not the only one who saw that mild dry hump she gave him."

"Yep." David backs his twin. " I definitely saw it. Me and Daniel actually had a text conversation about it."

"No, I didn't" I shout.

"Dad, no I didn't"

"Did too."

"Did not"

Did I? I probably did.

"Did too"

"Did not"

"DID. TOO"

"DID. NOT!"

"DID. TOO!"

"DID. NOT!"

"Did not"

"Did TOO!"

Fuck… I got Looney Tuned

"Look, Dad." Daniel gloats. "She admitted it."

"It works every time" David adds.

"Shut up!" I shout.

"Daddy, make them stop." I whine as I cross my arms, like they can see me.

"Stop teasing your sister" my dad says in a monotone voice.

"Hmph" I sound into the phone, rubbing my victory in their faces.

"You tree are too old to play like this… grow… up!" GranAnne scolds.

"She knows we're just playing" David says with a light chuckle.

"Yeah" I laugh with them.

Daniel joins in, "We're real proud of you, sis."

"Thanks" I laugh with them.

My brothers and I share a weird bond. Some siblings show love the traditional ways. My brothers and I show we love each other by making fun of each other and trying to one up the others in prank wars. Even though we love to get on each other's nerves, we're always there for each other…I gotta love em'.

"Oh God, Bella. I- We are so proud of you. You were so good" my mom starts to sniffle again. " PLEASE COME HOME!" she cries. "I WANT TO SEE MY BABY!"

"Moooom" I start. "You know I can't. Please don't make me feel bad" I hate when she does this. I feel like I'm 5 years old again. "I'm still coming for Christmas. I promise."

"I just miss you" she pouts.

"Wow" David chimes in. "You think seeing us would be good enough."

"I know. I feel so neglected" Daniel adds.

"Please" I scoff. "It's no secret that I'm the favorite."

"You three know your mother and I have no favorites. "

"Besides, I see you two buttheads all the time" mom adds. "The thrill is gone"

"Ouch" my brothers say in unison.

"So…" mom starts. " Are you going to bring your boyfriend?"

I'd been thinking about asking Edward to come to meet my parents for Christmas. I just don't want to scare him away by being too serious. I mean, it's almost October already.

"Maybe" I say. "Who is he?"

"For de love GOD…. PLEASE tell your mother. She's been driving everyone mad." GranAnne pleads into the phone.

"Yeah" Daniel interrupts. "She's been reading tea leaves like that chick in Harry Potter trying to find out. Last time she got Joseph Gordon Levitt."

"He's cute" mom adds, defensively.

"She even tried a Ouija Board." David adds. I couldn't help but laugh. That is so Renee.

"Is it him?" mom asks.

"Please" Daddy begs. "put us out of our misery"

I wanted to tell. I really did. To be honest, this whole secrecy thing was starting to be more trouble than it's worth. I was tempted to just take Edward shopping at Pottery Barn and get everything out in the open. I wanted everyone to know about us. I like to think that we're secure enough that the whole "paparazzi" situation wouldn't affect us like it would have if we were just starting out. I just didn't know how he felt about everything. Did he like being secretive?

At that moment, I started to weigh my options. I don't think it would hurt if my family knew, as long as they don't go around telling everyone.

Fuck it

"It's"

"Beeeelllllllaaaa!" I hear Alice shouting from downstairs. "Come here. Hurry!"

Why is she yelling? Is something wrong? Where is my gun?

"Who is that?"

"Is it Rose? Fuck, she's hot? Why won't you put in a good word for me?" Daniel asks.

"Sorry guys. I gotta go" I say. "Oh come on!" they all say.

"I'm sorry. Maybe something happened. I'll call you guys later. Bye" I hurry off of the phone.

I rush downstairs, terrified. What did I find? Alice on the couch looking very interested… in her cell phone. I see a blur of her thumbs because she's texting so fast.

"This was the emergency? I contemplated getting my gun for this? Alice, what's so damn important?" I asked her.

"You have a gun?"

"That's beside the point."

She turns around and jumps off of the couch. "Bella…"she starts and has to calm herself down. "Fred Segal is having a SALE! We must go… like now."

I hear a toilet flush followed by the sound of heels clicking through the hallway. "What?" Rose shouts as she enters the hallway. I notice a trail of tissue on her shoe.

Nah… I won't tell her

Then Alice started mumbling unintelligibly. All I heard was Fred Segal, sale, today, and epic. I think I got the gist of the conversation.

"Yes!" Rose jumps, starting to clap her hands in unison with Alice. "Bella, get your shit. We're leaving now."

You'd think they were the boss of me.

Yep! They're definitely spending too much time together.

I do as I'm told in order to avoid the wrath of Gangsta Barbie and the Pixie- otherwise known as… The WonderBitches!

I'm not liking where this is going

I start texting Edward before we get to the store. I know these two good enough that their word doesn't mean shit as far as shopping was concerned. Now that there was some sort of sale going on, I might not make it out alive.

**B: Hey boyfriend!**

** E: Hey girlfriend!**

**B: How'd the meeting go?**

** E: Fine. Just… weird.**

**B: Weird how?**

**E: Can't explain it. What r u doing?**

**B: I've been kidnapped by the WonderBitches. Apparently Fred Segal is having a sale and the world has stopped spinning.**

**E: LOL! Sorry. What ever will you do? (Southern voice)**

**B: Shut up. You're not sorry. I can hear your smirking from here. E: Guilty. It can't be that bad**

**B: Yeah. It can. We shopped for 8 hours last time. I didn't even get a food break.**

**E: Those monsters. Tragedy.**

**B: Whatever. I'd like to see you go shopping with them. **

**E: Never**

**B: Thought so**

**E: You'll be fine.**

**B: I just want you to know that if I don't make it back, these 6 weeks have been the best of my life.**

Seriously. Let's add a little seriousness to the conversation. Why not?

**E: Same here, Bambi**

What?

**B: Tell my mother I was brave. **

**E: Will do**

I wait another five minutes. Then a stroke of genius hit me.

**B: Don't let go…**

That shit was funny. I hope he catches it

**E: Never**

He got it. Oh how I love this man.

I erupt into laughter at this point. Rose and Alice stop talking about all of the shit they want to buy to look at me like I'm dumb.

**E: Titanic. Nice**

**B: I knew you'd appreciate it. We're here. I gotta go. Bye. **

**E: Bye. See ya Monday.**

After we arrive, I'm ambushed by camera flashes and paparazzi yelling, "Bella," "How's it goin?" "You here to do some shopping?"

What does it look like? That was a dumb question

Then, I'm thrown, literally by Rose, into the store where they grab at clothes like two little kids scrapping over the last cookie before nap time. I stand idle, hoping that if I don't make too much noise they'll forget I'm here and I won't have to buy anything.

Wrong

They made me buy stuff… a lot of stuff. After the first hour, I blacked out, temporarily. It could have been from fear, exhaustion or anger from all the stuff I was being forced to buy. I don't know.

Rose and Alice stayed true to their word, we didn't stay long... at Fred Segal. They convinced, more like commanded, me that since we were already out, me might as well hit other stores. I agreed.

No choice. I didn't drive

Then, after another 4 hours of shopping, Rose's lying ass 'accidently' took a wrong turn and ended up at a spa. This led to me getting a mani, pedi, wax, and body

scrub.

Needless to say, by the time I got home I was a little irritable… and hungry.

Manipulative bitches

After the weekend passed, I had my date with Edward. We chose to just lay back and have pizza at my house. Personally, I loved it. I hate getting dressed up and going out to places and having people stare at me. But, I know that there is a price you pay for celebrity. The price is your privacy.

He constantly apologized for not being able to take me out to nice places and "treat me like the princess" that I am. I always tell him that I don't care about all of that fancy stuff. It's not my style.

To be honest, it makes me feel kind of selfish sometimes. I feel like we always do things centered around me. He seems so hurt that he can't take me to five star restaurants and other nice places, but I don't like them. But, he likes those places.

I'd like to do something he likes for once. It made me start thinking of an idea.

I wanted to take Edward on a date. It would be epic. I started thinking of all the things he likes to do and came up with a pretty solid plan. I couldn't wait to actually put it into action.

Most of all, I wanted to go public. This shit was starting to feel sleezy. We aren't doing anything wrong.

Next thing I knew, Edward was on a plane to New York. He promised me that he'd call once he landed. Eventually, he did.

"Hi, boyfriend" I laugh into the phone.

"Hey" he said in a monotone voice.

"How was your flight?" I ask.

"Okay" he said, still in his monotone voice.

What's wrong with him?

"What's wrong with you? Are you jetlagged or something? " I asked. He's acting weird.

"Nothing. I'm alright." he replies. He must have realized that his tone was off because he attempted to add a little more life to his voice.

I wasn't buying it.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." If he gives me another one word answer… "I just need to get some rest. I'll talk to you later" he answers. "Bye Baby"

"Bye" I say as he hangs up the phone shortly after.

Something is wrong. I know it. I feel it. What had Edward so upset? Did this link back to that 'weird' meeting he had the other day? Why did he think he couldn't tell me?

I thought things over and realized that I might have been overreacting. The flight from LA to New York was 5 to 7 hours. He got in late. Maybe he was tired. Even though I tried to rationalize what just happened, I couldn't believe it. Why was he so short with me on the phone?

I didn't understand. I needed another perspective. I called Rose and Alice. They said the same thing the rational side of my brain did that he was tired. So, I let it go and went on about the rest of my day.

I wish they were right. I wanted them to be right. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that they were wrong. Maybe, I would have believed it had that phone call been the last of its kind. It wasn't. Each day that Edward called me, our conversations were short, both in attitude and length. They never lasted more than 10 minutes. Our normal text conversations lasted longer than that.

All week, it seemed like my head was somewhere. When I had a meeting to discuss the terms of my contract, I acted like an invalid, forcing Rose to do all the talking. I doubt it made a good first impression. I made a call and personally apologize.

I could tell that I was getting on Alice and Rose's nerves. I couldn't help it. I hated to sound like an insecure girlfriend, and I know I did, but I felt like something was wrong and it left me feeling uneasy.

After another confusing phone call from Edward, I go upstairs to find Alice, Rose and a suitcase. They're in their ass kicking pose.

"I guess I'm in trouble" I say.

"Yeah" they reply.

"What did I do?" I don't remember doing anything to provoke their wrath.

"How do I say this lightly?" Alice asks herself.

"You're acting like a fucking psycho" Rose accuses.

"What? How?" I ask, defensive.

"Your acting crazy over nothing."

"No I'm not."

I'd been keeping Edward's distant attitude a secret. They've been thinking I'm still freaking out over the initial phone call.

"Honey, you gotta stop stressing. Everything is fine." Alice starts.

"Is this an intervention?" I ask, laughing. I didn't know it was this serious.

"If you want to call it that… fine" Rose starts. "We figured that there is only one way to stop this."

"Which is…"

"We're sending you on a plane to New York tomorrow morning." Alice revealed.

"What?"

"Exactly. I told Emmett. He thinks it's a good idea. Surprise Edward. Then, you'll see that nothing is wrong and you come back your normal eccentric self."

"Don't you think that a little extreme?" I ask.

"Nope" Alice says popping the 'p.'

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"Not a chance in Hell." Rose informs me.

"What time do we leave?" I ask defeated.

"You leave at 9 in the morning. We aren't going. I have work. You're not my only client, you know."

"Tomorrow is Jasper's birthday. We're going out." Alice adds.

I hang my head and shrug my shoulder in defeat. I take off my pants and head straight for my bed to take my nap.

"Honey, do it for your piece of mind. You'll come back feeling a little stupid" she laughs. "But you'll see everything is fine."

I hope so.


	14. Chapter 14

**EPOV**

Shit.

Fuck.

Damn it.

These are some of the expletives, along with certain questions like "What the fuck?" and "Why me?" surge through my head as I'm blindsided with new information on the plane ride from Los Angeles to New York. How did I not see this coming? I always knew that Lauren was a crazy bitch. I guess that I can add manipulative to the list too.

Now, if they told this to me a couple of months ago, I wouldn't have been as pissed as I am now. But now… now when my situation has changed and Lauren knows this and still pushed for this idea, I was furious.

Where the fuck is Emmett?

After the suits twisted my arm sufficiently enough I stalk off to the other end of the plane to sulk in peace while Lauren smirks and raises her eyebrow in victory. At this moment, I've never wanted to throw anyone, let alone a woman, out of a plane so much in my life. I doubt there is a jury in America that would convict me.

Bitch

After the plane lands, I practically ran off as soon as the wheels stopped turning. After I got my bags and got to my hotel room. I took a nap to rest off some of the anger.

Bella is rubbing off on me

As soon as Bella's name entered my mind, my mood altered. How would she react to this? I just got her after all of this time. I finally heard the three words I've been longing to hear. Would she leave? She'd be a fool to stay. I'm selfish enough not to want her to leave. But how can I ask her such a favor? Suddenly, my anger turned to fear.

There's no way she's gonna go for this. She's gonna leave me.

I'm awakened by the sound of banging on my door.

"Open up, pretty boy!" yells the voice on the other side of the door. Emmett.

I walk sleepily to the door and welcome him inside.

"What's up, bro?" he asks. "How's it goin? How was the flight."

"Well… to answer your questions in order, nothing, not good, and shitty." I answer as I rub the sleep out of my eyes and walk over to the mini bar and grab some tequila.

"Dude. That bad?"

"Yep" I say, popping the 'p'

"What happened?" he asks as he sits down in the chair opposite of mine. So I tell him the tale that was my 6 hour trip to Hell.

"What!" Emmett yells as he shoots out of his chair and grabs his computer. "They can't do that!"

"Apparently, they can. It's in the contract." I say, running my fingers through my hair.

"Let me see." He says as he pulls the contract on his computer and looks it over. "Shiiiit" he says as he reads the clause. "Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately."

"Poor me a shot too, buddy" he says as he grabs a glass and I fill him up.

"As a friend, I'm telling you that this is fucked up. However, as your agent, I'm telling you that this isn't the first time that this has happened. It actually happens frequently… normally at the beginning. It's just so… sudden. Why?" he finishes in a distant voice.

"Lauren" I answer. "That bitch. I can't stand her."

"I thought-"

"I did too!" I yelled.

"Dude! I just asked" he states defensively.

After a short length of silence, I hear Emmett whisper out a long, "Fuuuuuuck."

"What?"

How can this day get any worse?

"Bella" he states.

"I know." I say, meekly.

"How do you think she's gonna take it?"

"I have no clue." I say sarcastically. "How in the fuck do you think she's gonna take it? My guess… not well. She's gonna be pissed."

This situation affects her too. This is going to kill her.

"You don't know that"

"Uh…yeah I do. There's no way she'll stick around after this shit." I start. My voice grows softer. "She's gonna leave me" I speak softer, voicing my fear. "I can't fucking lose her."

"Tell her" he prompts. "She might surprise you."

I scoff bitterly at the suggestion. Bella is gorgeous, kind, smart, funny, witty, thoughtful… she bakes.

She's fucking perfect

She could have any guy she wants. I doubt that she'll want to stick around to deal with my baggage. No. Fucking. Way.

"Call her" Emmett orders. "I should call Rose anyway and let her know I landed okay." He adds as he grabs the bottle of tequila and heads towards the door. "You're cut off, superstar. You have an early day. We can't have you on set pissed off and hungover."

"Yeah, Yeah" I say as I flip him off as he closes the door.

After he leaves, I sit in my chair and stare at my phone on the table. I'd landed around 3 hours ago. I didn't want her to start worrying so I called her. As soon as I heard her the sweetness of her voice, I couldn't help but get a little sad. She doesn't deserve this. She deserves to be with someone who can give her their all. I couldn't bare to stay on the phone with her for anything other than the essential "I'm fine."

It will just hurt worse when she leaves

I end my day with that phone call as I head back to bed.

_Bella and I are on opposite sides of a beach. I can't see her because her body is turned to the ocean, but I know it's her. I see the sun reflect off of the red tint to her hair, creating an eerie glow around her._

_"Bella!" I shout, trying to gain her attention. She doesn't answer. She doesn't even move her head to see where the noise is coming from. Can she hear me?_

_"BELLA!" I shout louder as I start to run towards her. Mid stride, I feel the weight of a chain as my foot jerks and I fall to the ground just as a crack of thunder sounds, turning the blue sky a dark shade of grey._

_As the thunder sounds, Bella starts to look around and notices me._

_"Edward?" she questions and begins to walk over. "How did you-" before she finishes her sentence, she's thrown back by an invisible force forcing her to fall to the sand. She doesn't move. I notice a small trickle of blood seeping out of her head just as it starts to rain._

_"Bella?" I ask as I get up. "Bella?" I ask again as I get up and run over to her. The wet sand strains my legs, but I keep moving. Before I can get to her, I feel the length of the chain shorten as I fall in front of her._

_I reach out my hand, but I can't reach her._

_"Bella!" I shout, trying to get her to wake up but the sound of lightning drowns out my cry._

_"Bella!"I try again only to be silenced by the clash of sound. "Wake up!"_

"Bella"

"BELLA!" I shout as I shoot out of the bed, my head hitting the side of the table. I check the alarm clock, seeing that it reads 4:00. I'm getting picked up at 5:30, so I decide to hit the gym at the hotel for a while before getting ready.

I put on some sweats and a t shirt and head down to the gym. Since it was early, the gym was empty, so I could be alone. At least I thought it was empty.

"O…M…G" I hear the unmistakable voice of a teenage girl whisper… loudly. "Excuse me" she says as she taps me on my shoulder. I turn around. She gasps.

"No way!" she shouts. "You're Edward Cullen! I thought it was you…cuz of the hair. Holy shit!" she screams as she runs to me and hugs me. "I love you!"

"It's always nice to meet a fan" I laugh with her.

"No one is going to believe me. Can I get a picture? Pleeeaaase?" she asks while taking a camera out of her gym bag.

Who puts a camera in their gym bag?

I take a few pictures with her and give her an autograph.

"Oh my God. You are so hot!" she gushes. "But you already know that. I mean...you own a mirror" she rambles.

"Thanks" I laugh… awkwardly.

Where are her parents?

"What are you doing later?" she asks. "I'll be 18 in three days."

"Umm…" I draw out, trying to think of a plausible lie that won't hurt her self esteem. Call it divine intervention, but Emmett called me before I could answer.

"I gotta go" I say as I leave the gym without having did what I wanted to. The call wasn't important- just a reminder to get up.

Sooner than later, I arrive on set and get ready for my day. As soon as I walk on set, I see Lauren walk over to me.

"Hi, Hon-"

"Fuck off" I interrupt her as take my place.

"Okay" Aro starts. "We know the scene. Feel it. Live it. Experience it. Be Kevin. Be Diane… when you're ready" he lowers his voice to a whisper and starts to roll the camera.

The scene was surprisingly easy to shoot. Lauren and I's characters get in this really huge fight that turns borderline physical. I actually hate Lauren's guts, so it was easy to find the rage and motivation to call her a bitch and give her a good shove.

Don't look at me like that

"Cut!" Aro yells as he jumps off of his chair. He runs on the set and twirls his way over to me and Lauren. "Genius!" he screams as he hugs me and kisses my forehead…again.

Boundaries

"Good job, baby!" Lauren screeches.

I'm not your fucking baby

This is how things went for the majority of the next few days. I did my job. Then I went to bed. I didn't really talk to anyone. I guess you can say that I wasn't particularly pleasant to be around. Most thought I was just being dick-which I was. Aro thought I was channeling my character. Weirdo.

How could he not know what I was pissed off about? Dumbass

The worst part of everything was how I was treating Bella. Every conversation we'd had during my time here had seemed awkward. I know that she knows something is wrong. The only thing she wanted to do was be there for me and I was pushing her away.

I just got back from a long day of Lauren. God, I hate that bitch. I put on a pair of pajama pants and jump in the bed to see what's on t.v.. I hear my phone ring. It's Bella. I answer.

"Hey boyfriend." She laughs into the phone.

"Hi" I answer. At first, I thought the "hey boyfriend/girlfriend" thing was kinda silly. Now, I'm gonna miss it.

"Rough day?"

"I guess you could say that."

"You don't want to talk about it do you?"

"Not really"

I hear her mumble "I don't know why I even asked." I'm not sure if she meant for me to hear it.

"Well… when you do decide to talk about it… I'll have open ears" she laughs, awkwardly.

"It's just…" I wanted to tell her then and lay everything that happened on the table. But I didn't want to be a coward. I wanted to tell her to her face. I needed to tell her personally. "filming is taking a lot out of me."

"I know. It can do that." she says. "I know, that when I played a drunk who sold her soul for a lifetime of free alcohol in 'I Hope They Serve Martinis in Hell,'" she adds as she fakes getting choked up, "it was so hard for me. I found myself starting to slip" she says as her voice starts to crack. "Then, I had a Rooty Tooty and everything got back to normal" she ends with a laugh.

I fight the urge to laugh with her and tell her how much I missed her. This was what I loved about my Bambi. She has the ability to turn anything into a joke. I wish I had that ability. She makes everything better.

At the moment, I started thinking about how I'll never get to make her laugh (or at least try), or kiss her wonderful lips, or feel her soft skin, or smell her hair. All I was giving up rushed into my brain.

Fuck. I'll even miss Cujo

The anger came back.

"I doubt it" I say in a sarcastic, yet aloof voice.

"Oh" she says, shocked. I know I hurt her feelings and I feel like shit about it. "Look, I gotta go. I'm tired. You should know when a person needs their rest…" I lead off.

"Okay… bye I guess."

"Yeah."

"Talk to you later"

"Sure" I answer, curtly as I hang up the phone.

After a couple days of "fine tuning" as Aro would say, the day came. The day I'd been dreading. The fucking chair scene. There would be nothing between Lauren and me but a G string and a sock.

God help me

It was awkward before when I didn't like Lauren. Now, it's going to be damn near impossible to pretend that I find her the least bit appealing when I want to be as far away from her as possible. The whole "asshole façade" was not going to get me far here.

How am I supposed to do that?

"Eddie!" I hear Emmett yell at me.

"What?" I answer unenthusiastically.

"I know it's gonna be hard for you today… with everything."

"Oh don't worry" I laugh, bitterly. "I don't have to worry about anything getting hard today." I finish, causing Emmett to howl out laughing.

"He's coming back. It's good because I'm getting tired of your emo act, bro." he pats me on the back and walks off stage to his chair. After Aro briefs us on the obvious, we start to shoot the scene.

Or at least we try to

"CUUUUT!" Aro yells for about the 20th time. "Cullen, what the fuck?" he asks. "Sorry" I say for the 20th time as I run my hands through my hair.

"Sorry isn't gonna shoot the damn scene. Everyone, take 5 and get your shit together." He orders before storming off and everyone clears the stage. I put my robe back on and sit down.

This is going to be a long day?

"Look" Emmett states blankly. "You're stinking it up… big time."

"I can't focus with all this shit on my brain. It's hard to feel aroused by Lauren when I want to ring her fucking neck!" I shout. Some people heard me. I don't give a shit.

"I understand that. Just… try to think of something else." He advises while looking at his watch.

"What's wrong? You've been looking at your watch all day."

"It's only 12" he laughs. "I have to do something later on."

"More important than me?"

"Yeah…no...kinda" he rambles. "What does that-"

"PLACES PEOPLE!" Aro yells as he takes his place behind the camera. "Hopefully, we all have a grasp of what's going on due to our break" he says as Lauren and I take our place in the chair. "When you're ready…" he leads off.

I place my head in Lauren's shoulder and accidently inhale her scent. Damn, I hate her. She begins to move her hips against mine. I try to get my head in the game. I don't want to be here all day again… I start to move my hips against hers. This is a vast improvement from earlier already.

She arches her back and whips her hair around hitting me in my face. I fight the urge to sneeze. For a second, I imagined Lauren's blonde vanilla scented hair is Bella's. A groan escapes my lips as Lauren moans in returns as hooks her arms around my biceps. Our bare chests are touching and I find it hard not to vomit. I keep moving my hips against her, recalling how wonderful Bella's soft skin felt against my fingers that night after the club. "Heaven" I whisper as I ghost my hands up and down Lauren's back. I buck my hips faster as my mind travels to how amazing Bella's mouth felt on my cock. I thought about what I was going to lose. "Don't leave" I say softly. Then I felt it. Lauren did too.

_Lord, please tell me I did not get a boner with Lauren sitting on top of me._

I feel Lauren smile against my neck as she tries to scoot herself closer in an attempt to graze my erection. I stop as I hold her hips in a vice grip.

And…it's gone

"Stop" I hiss at her.

"Do you really want me to?" she whispers.

"YES!" Aro shouts. "YES YES YES!" he finishes. "Christina!" he calls for his assistant.

"Yes, Mr. Volturi?" she asks.

"Can you please bring me a fresh pair of boxers?" he asks.

"Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure that I just jizzed my pants. That scene was… AWESOME!" he claps his hands. "I'd hug you guys, but I feel that may be a little inappropriate."

Maybe he does have boundaries

"Thanks… I guess" I say awkwardly as I put my robe back on.

"I knew the break would help." Aro gushes.

"Yeah" Lauren chuckles, tying her robe while giving me 'the eye.' "Things picked right up"

Ewww

"Alright" he snaps his fingers as Christina comes back with another pair of underwear. "Let's get Ms. Mallory and Kendra to hair, makeup and wardrobe. "Cullen, you're dismissed for the day."

"Really?" I thought I'd have to do more shooting today.

This was a surprise. A nice surprise.

"Yeah. Mr. McCarthy explained everything to us. You've worked hard this week. We can afford to give you the rest of the day off. Besides, you've earned it."

"Hey! Why does he get the day off?" Lauren whines. "I work hard too" she pouts, while stomping her foot and crossing her arms.

That's only cute when Bella does it

"Lauren" Aro calmly says, as he gently grabs both of her shoulders. "Stop bitching and do your job. Thank you!" he finishes and walks off the set.

I take a shower to wash the Mallory off of me. After I put my clothes back on, I go to find Emmett. It didn't take me very long to find him. I looked at the catering table. He had at least half of the table piled onto his plate.

"Dude" I laugh. "That's disgusting." I say, pointing to his plate.

"This coming from a man who is dating Bella. The only person who eats like a lady is you." I shrug my shoulder and grabs a sandwich.

"Aro gave me the rest of the day off. It's only 1. I feel so free… and sleepy. I'm hanging around Bella too much." I laugh.

"I know. Your agent has mad skills. You needed the day off to sort stuff out" he tells me as his alarm goes off.

"What is that?"

"I gotta go and pick something up." He says as he heads towards the door. "See you later"

I stand outside the studio in the cold New York weather and think of what I want to do. I've been to New York countless times. But I've never seen the city because I was always working. I put my hat on and zip my jacket all the way so that it covers my mouth so that you can only really see my eyes. I know I look crazy but I can't find it in me to care.

I spend the next three hours just walking around. I listen to street musicians and look at works by different artisans in the street. I sit on a bench and look at people walking, jogging, talking…being normal.

A family catches my eye. They couple looked to be around my age, give or take a year or two. The mother was pushing a stroller and laughing at something the father said as he put his hands over hers so that were pushing the stroller together and kisses the top of her head. It was a sweet gesture. It got me thinking. That could have been me and Bella. If I'd grown a pair in high school and asked her out, where would we be now? Would we be married? Have a family? Still live in Washington?

I feel the fatigue taking over my body so I start walking back to my hotel.

I stop near a newsstand to tie my shoes and hear some guy "Damn" he says to another man leaning against the counter as he shows him an issue of Glamour magazine.

Is that Bella on the cover?

"I know. It should be illegal for a woman to be that hot" the other man says.

"Fuck, she's hot. You saw her special on HBO?"

"Hell yeah. She's hilarious too. I don't know if I want to fuck her mouth or wash it out with soap." He laughs. "Man I wish she was into porn."

"Whoever gets to fuck that is one lucky son of a bitch."

"I'd watch that sex tape!" the man laughs.

Oh Hell no… MIIINNNE!

I immediately grab all 12 issues off the man- including the one the perv is reading. "I'd like to buy these" I say through my coat.

"Really?" the cashier asks.

"Yes" I say as I give the man a $50 bill and head back to my hotel.

Once I get back to my room, I look at the article and the pictures. She looks beautiful. I couldn't help but laugh at the pictures of her in this jacket/dress thing. She looked amazing in it, but it wasn't her. I imagined her being incredibly uncomfortable when they shot her in a bra and shorts. The one that caught my eye was the picture of her in a wife beater and jeans that hugged every killer curve. The obvious presence of her nipples made it evident that she wasn't wearing a bra. I bet that got on her nerves. That picture was my favorite. It wasn't as extravagant as the other two, but it was more her.

I wonder if I could get a poster made

As I ogle the pictures of her like a 12 year old boy, I hear my phone ring. Bella. "Hey" I speak into the phone.

"Hello" I hear her laughing at something. "How was your day?"

"It was…" shitty, horrible, " awkward. I had to shoot a sex scene with Lauren."

"Wow" her laughter stops. "That would make it a little awkward? Did she molest you?" she starts to laugh again.

"What?" I ask. I couldn't help but laugh at how straight forward she was.

"Come on" she encourages. "You're Edward Cullen" she drags out dramatically. "Just cuz I'm your girlfriend doesn't mean you have to be weird about it."

You won't be my girlfriend for long

"Well—"

"Anyway" she cuts me off. "I've been thinking about you a lot lately. I actually thought about surprising you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And if I did decide to surprise you, I would have gone all out."

"Would you, now?" What is she talking about?

"Yeah" she continues with a cocky tone. "I would have called Emmett and asked him to get you off of work early. Then, I'd arrange to get you a suit because I'd take you on a date… an epic one. I'd make you look bad in the romance department. And that is not an easy undertaking."

Wait a minute…

"Bella, are you in New York?"

"Maybe… of course" she laughs. "You didn't catch on to my mysterious yet witty dialogue? I worked on that for like… 5 minutes. I miss you" she adds.

"Wow." I say. I was speechless. Fuck, I love her. "Where are you?"

"That, my dear boyfriend, is not important" she laughs. "It's 5:00, be ready at 7:00 at the side entrance to your hotel" she adds. I can hear her smiling over the phone.

"Okay"

"Look sexy for me" she orders with a laugh.

"I guess so" I say. I'm still in shock.

"See you later"

"Bye" I say as I hang up.

What a strange turn of events

I sit in my room and try to wrap my head around what just happened. Bella came to New York to see me. The thought itself made me happy.

She really does love me

I found myself getting anxious. Where were we going? What were we going to do?

In all of my 29 years, I'd never had a girl take me on a date. It was kinda cool. Then I thought about what I had to tell her. My mood soured.

I must have sulked around my room for 30 minutes until Emmett knocked on my door. I opened the door to him standing in the hallway with a suit in his hand and some shoes in the other.

"Dude" he starts. "I hope this shit fits. I called your tailor and everything. I'm pretty sure. Bella will kill me if I fucked this up."

"Calm down" I laugh at him as I take the suit from his hands. I look inside the suit bag and see a black Armani suit with a dark grey/black striped dress shirt and a silk black tie. The shoes are Armani as well.

"Nice. Very nice" I say as I take the suit out of the bag.

"I know, right" he claps my back. "How does it feel Cinderfella?" he laughs. "Your Princess Charming is coming to whisk you away."

"Did you just use whisk in a sentence…correctly?"

"Yes" he rolls his eyes. "You gotta admit. This shit is pretty cool."

"Yeah." I laugh.

"You have a kickass girlfriend, man. How many guys can say their girlfriends surprised them in another state to take them on a date? Not many."

"I know. I love her" It dawned on me that this was the first time I've admitted it to anyone but myself. " I can't lose her."

"You don't know she's gonna dump you. Bella's marches to her own drum. Fuck that, she has her own private band in her head." He laughs. "You love her. She loves you. Talk it out."

"I'm scared to tell her" I say as I throw my head in my hand.

"You have to."

"I guess" I admit defeated as I get up to start getting ready. "I gotta be ready by 7."

"Really? It's 6:30. You act like a girl sometimes."

"Shut up and get out" I laugh as I usher him to the door.

Before he leaves, Emmett turns to me. "No offense, but you have been a huge douche this week. I know it's because of everything with Lauren, but don't shut Bella out man. Talk it out first."

"Alright" I say as I close the door and start getting ready.

After I shower, shave and get ready it's about time for me to go. I stand in front of the side entrance and I see a limo pull up.

No way

I open the door and look inside. I can't see anything except for a pair of black pumps that scream "fuck me" in every language known to man.

Jesus… I'm a dead man

Then, out of nowhere, I see Bella slide across the side seat and smile at me. "Hey, boyfriend!" she smiles at me.

When I see her, I can't help but smile at her. She has on a gorgeous back dress with ruffles on the straps. She looks amazing. I missed her so much. Seeing her again, and knowing that she came to see me… I can't explain it.

"Hey, girlfriend" I say to her as I get in the limo beside her and shut the door. The limo pulls off.

"I'm so exc—" before she finishes her sentence, I attack her. I couldn't help myself. I pull her to me mold my mouth to hers and savor her sweet unique flavor as my tongue invades her mouth to dance with her own.

"Mmm" she moans as she straddles my lap and runs her fingers through my hair. I scoot her closer as one of my hands travel to her backside while the others find its place on her breast. She breaks contact as she arches her back, giving my lips incentive to make their way her neck, increasing her moans as one of her hands leave my hair to message my erection through my pants.

"Damn, I missed you" she whispers in my year as she begins to unzip my zipper.

"Fuck, I missed you too, baby" I whimper as my lips travel to her ear where I nibble on her earlobe before they travel to her cleavage where my hands now reside. Just as Bella reaches her hand down my boxers, the limo stops which sufficiently kills the mood.

Noooo

"Wow" she breathes as she runs her hands over her lips. "That was some welcome" she blushes and she gazes into my eyes… brown into green.

"I just missed you. I didn't know how much until I saw you" I rest my head on her chest. "Where are we going?" I ask.

"Just wait" she laughs, making fun of me as she smoothes out her clothes and fixes her hair. I do the same.

After we're presentable, the driver opens our door and Bella and I walk to the entrance. An older gentleman in a nice suit opens the door for us. Bella takes out a blindfold.

"Put this on" she orders. "I don't want to ruin the surprise." "Fine" I relent as I cover my eyes with the fabric.

Bella takes me by the hand and we start walking until she turns me around. "Okay" she says as I hear a door opening where she leads for a few more steps until she orders me to sit down. As soon as I move to take the blindfold off I hear the unmistakable sound of an orchestra tuning. I smile and Bella huffs.

"Damn it" she whispers as I take the blindfold off to see her arms crossed and pouting. "You figured it out."

See? It's only cute when Bella does it

"You did great" I laugh as she takes her seat next to me. "What is this?"

"I know that you like classical music. I looked online and saw that the orchestra is playing along with other European pianists tonight. I thought you'd like it" she looks around and smiles.

"I love it. Thank you" I say as I kiss her and pull her into my lap. "You got us a private box?" I ask. Tickets to their shows are well sought after and expensive. She must have thrown around some serious money to get these on short notice.

God, I love her

"I wanted to do something nice for you. We always do things I want to do. I wanted to return the favor. I was starting to feel selfish."

"I like doing nice things for you. You didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to. And I am" she laughs as the lights dim and the show starts.

From the moment the show starts, I'm immersed in the works of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and other famous composers. I occasionally look over at Bella smiling and see how the lighting of the theater makes her glow. She looks ethereal. I place a small kiss on her neck causing her to blush and turn her face into my neck.

"Ooh!" she whispers excitedly. "They're about to play your favorite piece"

As soon as the words leave her mouth, the first chord of Debussy's Clair de Lune fills the theater and the audience erupts into applause. I close my eyes and just listen to the notes flow off of the keys and just enjoy it. Then I hear a sniffle.

"Are you crying?" I ask Bella.

"Yeah. It's beautiful." She smiles as she wipes a stray tear off of her cheek. "You're beautiful" I say as I run my thumb over her other cheek and look into her eyes.

At that moment, with us staring into each other's eyes I wanted… needed to tell her how I felt.

Tell her. Tell her you love her

The sound of thunderous applause breaks us out of our moment and Bella stands to applaud the pianist as he steps off the stage. The lights come back on as Bella reaches for my hand. The opportunity is gone.

It probably didn't matter anyway

The man from earlier escorts us back outside where the limo is waiting for us.

"Thanks, Bella. That was awesome." I say as I pull onto my lap and lean over so that we're lying on the seat. At that moment, I'm given the perfect view of the black pumps she has on. They even have a bow on the back…sexy.

"Wait. The night isn't over" she says as lifts her head up to meet my eyes. "We're going out to dinner"

"Where?" I ask. "Somewhere" she giggles.

"You're enjoying this too much" I admonish her and take another quick glance at her shoes.

I'll miss you… Bella's heel collection.

We arrive at our destination. Bella takes me by the hand and leads me to a side door. A chef comes to answer and greets us.

"Hello, Ms. Swan. Mr. Cullen" he nods. "Right this way" he adds as he leads us to a table with a private grill on it.

"Thank you" Bella and I say in unison as we scoot into our booth. I take a look around and notice that we're at a Hibachi restaurant. I notice that we're in the back and all of the table near us are empty. Our booth is in the corner so it would be hard to see us.

"Hibachi? I love Hibachi"

"I know" she giggles in victory. "Am I doing good so far?"

"Yes. You're making me feel bad" I joke, seriously. "I'd like to take you to pl-" Bella cuts me off by kissing me. It's not lustful like the one we'd shared in the limo, but

the passion was still present.

"Edward?" she asks.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and let me do this" she laughs and takes a look over her menu. Eventually, a chef comes out to shake Bella's and my hand. His pervy eyes scan Bella up and down when she's not looking. His eyes zero in on her chest. I wrap my arm around her waist and give him the "fuck off" look.

Mine… for the time being.

"Hello. My name is Chef Nguyen. I'm the head chef here at Flames. I'll be your personal chef this evening."

"Thank you for accommodating us at such short notice. I hear you have some of the best food in town" she smiles.

"Th-thank you, Ms. Swan" he stutters and blushes.

Dude! I'm right here

"You're welcome"

"Are you ready to place your orders?"

Bella looks over at me. I place my order of Steak and Shrimp while Bella looks at the menu. She'll probably order everything.

"I'll have…chicken…shrimp…ooh and salmon." She orders. Chef Nguyen's eyes get huge. "I have a big appetite" she laughs as he goes to get the food. I huff out loud.

"What?" she asks.

"Chef was checking you out" I growl

"No, he wasn't."

"Yeah. He was" I say as I place a kiss on the top of her head.

"You're overreacting"

"Maybe. But if he stares at your boobs again, I'll smash his head on the grill" I tell her.

I'm serious

"You're crazy" she laughs.

"You don't know how many guys want you Bella" I look into her eyes. "Today, I bought 12 issues of Glamour to prevent guys from ogling at you" I hiss. She laughs. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. You looked sexy by the way. I'm getting a poster made of the one of you in a t shirt and jeans."

"That one was my favorite."

I knew it!

"This is nice. A girl has never taken me on a date before."

"Well, I'm not normal is you haven't guessed" she says. "I'm… kind of a big deal" she adds with her Ron Burgundy impersonation.

"God, I missed you're weird ass" I laugh and kiss her forehead.

"I missed you too…sasquatch" she laughs. "It felt weird not having you there…with me."

"I know"

"I want to spend some time with you. I'm going to start shooting next week. Then, I'll have a short break before shooting again."

"What a life we lead" I laugh.

She snuggles into my side as Chef comes back and prepares our food over the grill. I kept my eye on him so he wouldn't be able to stare at Bella. She got scared when he lit the fire. She screamed a little. It was funny.

As soon as our food is done, Chef Ogle leaves and we start eating. Bella steals a couple pieces of my steak so she can have all 4 of the main meats. I steal a piece of her salmon.

"How has shooting been? You're almost done." I roll my eyes. That's the last thingI want to talk about. We're having a nice time.

"Wow. I felt your body tense up. That bad?"

"Worse" I tell her. That's all I could say. All I wanted to say.

"Is that why you've been so…" she leads off and makes a shaky gesture with her hand. "off?"

"It's okay" she rubs my back and kisses my neck. "We've all had that problem. I wanted to throw Mike Newton off of a cliff when I did Chart Toppers with him. That guy couldn't catch a hint if you threw it at him" she laughs.

Thankfully, she drops the subject and we finish our meal in peace. Bella, after a tense discussion, convinces (orders) me to let her pay the check. Before we leave, we each sign autographs for some of the staff as well as a big sign on the wall with celebrity autographs.

We hop back into the limo and sit in an awkward silence. Bella's twiddling her thumbs as she looks at me through the corner of her eye.

"I have a confession to make… actually two." She says. "What?"

"I originally didn't want to come to see you." she says regretfully. "But I'm glad I did. I liked doing this for you."

"Why didn't you want to come?"

"I was scared. You were acting so… weird. Frankly, you were an asshole" she laughs awkwardly. "I didn't know why you pulled a 180 on me."

"I'm sorry." I tell her. It killed me to act so aloof with her. It was for the best. "I've just been so stressed. I handled it wrong. I should have just told you."

Tell her… don't tell her

"It's alright. I don't want you to feel that you have to hide stuff from me." She says as she puts her arms around my waist. "You want to know what else?"

"What?"

She sits up and looks me in my eyes. "I can't do this anymore" she says as she points between me and her.

What? Is she dumping me?

"Oh God, no!" she laughs. She must have seen my face. "That came out wrong. What I meant was, I can't do this whole secrecy thing anymore. We aren't doing anything wrong. I want the world to know that we are an… us" she smiles as she's telling me this. "What do you think?"

Fuuuuuuck!

I couldn't believe this was happening. I wanted nothing more than to claim Bella as my own and be claimed in return. I unconsciously scoot away, placing my head in my hands as I pinch the bridge of my nose. I hear Bella scoot away too.

"Wow" she deadpans. "I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. So you don't want…"

"Of course I do" I look her in the eyes. I see her face light up. I've never seen her smile so big. "I can't" I tell her. Her face loses all emotion.

"Excuse me"

"People can't know we're together"

"Why?" she asks in a small voice

"Apparently, my contract with the studio states that they control however they choose to promote the movie. They think it would be good press if the public thought Lauren Mallory and I are together. It was Lauren's idea. Ever since we slept together…"

"Woah" she interrupts. "You slept with her?" she asks me in a whimper.

"It was before we got together" I tell her immediately. " I was drunk." I didn't want her to think I cheated.

"You still should have told me" she says.

"How is that important? It happened a long time ago"

"It's important when you're shooting a movie together that just so happens to have a graphic sex scene in it" her voice showing no emotion. "How would you feel if I slept with James Hunter?"

"You never did a movie with him!"

"I will. Digital Girls start shooting in 3 weeks. If you found out that I had a one night stand with someone I'd have to act like I was married to and have hot, raunchy, simulated sex, you honestly wouldn't want to know?"

Fuck. She has a point.

"I thought so" she adds. "How long?" "

Until awards season is over"

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Bella, say something. Please" I beg.

"What do you want me to say?" she asks.

"What did you want me to do?" I yell. I'm so frustrated now that I can't even think. "They have me in a corner."

"I don't know" she says sarcastically. "Say no. Did you tell them that you were seeing someone?" she raises her voice.

"That's not fair!" I say to her.

"What is fair, Edward?" she asks. "Is me being on the sideline while the whole world thinks you're dating someone else fair? Is it? Christ, Edward! It's only October"

"I'm sorry" I tell her. "I wanted to tell you. I've been miserable all week."

"You knew all week and didn't tell me? Is that why you've been so strange lately?" her voice raises.

"I didn't want to upset you!"

"So being a dick to me all week is better? Having me think something is wrong with _me_ is better!" she yells

"You don't understand!" I say to her.

"Really?" she questions as she crosses her arms. "Help me. Maybe I'm missing something."

"You don't have to deal with shit like this. You're a fucking comedian. This shit is serious."

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret ever saying them. I love what Bella does. Comedy is a majority man's game. To be a woman and be so successful as a comedian is an amazing accomplishment to have before you even hit 30.

And I just demeaned it

"Pull over" Bella says calmly into the intercom as the limo pulls over. Bella open the door and steps out and grabs her purse.

"Baby, come on. I'm so.." Bella raises a finger, cluing me to stop talking. I don't take it. "You're going to get mobbed. You don't have.." she raises her finger again. I shut up this time. I've never seen her so hurt. As she moves to close the door, I grab the door to climb out.

"Wait" she says in a small voice. "You'd get in trouble" she says as she ushers me back into the limo and shuts the door.

What just happened?

I'd been preparing myself all week for the moment this would happen. However, seeing Bella walk away from me tore my heart out of my fucking chest.

She pats the limo on the hood and the limo drives away. I sit there... completely numb. I walk back into the hotel. On my way to the elevator, I see Emmett. He runs over.

"Soo… How'd it go? What did you do? I feel like such a girl right now. Man, I wish Jasper was here… stupid birthday" he says in a rushed breath. I turn to face him. His smile drops. "My room. Scotch" he says as we head into the elevator.

Once we get to the room. He pours us each a glass of scotch. I'm too bummed to drink mine. So I talk. I tell him everything. The limo. The shoes. The theater. The restaurant. The argument. The comment.

"Dude." He shakes his head. "Dick…move. I can't believe you said that. You know comedians are sensitive about that shit."

"I can't either. I'm so fucking proud of her. She looked so beautiful. I bet she hates me" I say as I look at the liquor still in my glass.

"She doesn't hate you" he shakes his head. "She's probably pissed. But, she doesn't hate you. Call her, tomorrow."

"Okay. She's probably asleep anyway" I let out a small laugh thinking of my Bambi curled up sleeping. I looked at the clock to see that it's 12:30. "I should head back to my room" I say as I get up to leave.

"Alright. Sleep well. Call Bella in the morning. Emmett's orders" he laughs. "It'll blow over."

I take the elevator up to the penthouse suit and open the door to find it dimly lit with candles. They smell like vanilla.

Shit. Now I really feel like an asshole

How much trouble had Bella gone through to make this night special? She'd worked so hard on everything and I went and fucked it up with my big mouth.

I take off my jacket and throw it on the couch. I notice that rose petals are on the floor leaving a trail to the bedroom. Out of curiosity, I follow the trail.

"You're here!" Lauren says eagerly from the middle of the rose covered bed.

Tell me this isn't happening

"Lauren, what are you doing here?" I ask. I'm not in the mood for this right now.

"I came here to surprise you. When I came up, you weren't here so I sexed the place up a bit" she says "seductively" as she walks toward me while playing with her tan trench coat.

"I think you should leave" I tell her as I back up.

"I don't think you want me to" she giggles. "You see, you almost had me fooled with the whole 'I hate your guts' routine. But today, during that scene…" she shakes a little and growls "you let it slip. Feeling your long, thick, hard cock against me…damn. I know you want me" she steps closer "and I want you. So let's stop fucking around… and fuck around" she finishes as she drops her coat and steps forward.

She has on a see through corset with matching sheer panties. If I were attracted to her, I'd be aroused. There will be a snow day in Hell before that happens.

"I have a girlfriend" I tell her as I step back further.

"She's not my problem" she laughs. "I don't care."

I'm sleepy and depressed. I'm not in the mood for a "sensual seduction." Maybe I should leave.

Fuck that! This is my room!

"I do. We just went out." I state harshly. "She came all the way here to see me. So you need to leave" I emphasize the word leave as I point to the door.

"Where is she, then?" she asks, skeptically. She thinks I'm lying, "Because if I had you on my arm looking that sexy" she points to my suit. "I'd be taking all kinds of advantages"

"Lauren." I warn.

"Look. People are going to think we're dating anyway. Why not just go with it?" she asks as she steps forward again…and again. She tries to run her hands through my hair. I swat her hand away.

She's been doing that a lot lately

"I like this game we're playing" she giggles. "It's so, WHAT THE HELL?" she screams causing me to cradle my ears. I look at Lauren's face and follow her gaze to find a pissed of Bella.

My day has officially gotten worse

**A/N**

**I'm not a fan on angst. Everything will work out in the next chapter. Don't be alarmed. lol.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I missed a chapter. Sorry. This goes before the chapter I posted previously.**

BPOV

I went to bed more nervous that I had been in recent memory. It wasn't that I didn't want to see Edward. I did. I miss him terribly. It's just that I'm a little scared of what I'm gonna find when I get there. I couldn't understand the reason for his sudden change in attitude. It was unsettling. I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right. Is he getting cold feet? I hope not.

This had happened to me before. After the shit storm known as Riley, I promised myself that I wouldn't mope around wondering what's going on anymore. I'd be more proactive with the problems in my life. I don't know if I would be able to take another debacle again…especially with Edward. The fact like I liked Edward in the beginning of our relationship more than I ever "loved" Riley by itself scares the shit out of me. I guess that's why I've avoided any sort of confrontation up to this point. I don't want to deal with it. At all.

"What?" I ask sleepily as I sense Alice's presence in my room.

"Get up" she orders. "You're flight leaves at 8. Don't worry. I packed some stuff for you." I look at the clock and see that it's 6:45.

Three hours of sleep. Great!

"There better be a pair of sweatpants in there." I grumble as I slug out of bed and make my way to the shower. After arguing with Alice that I didn't need to put on makeup or do my hair to be on a plane for 7 hours, I compromised and let her dress me. She dressed me in a gray shirt with sheer black lace around the middle. I put on black shorts and some pants and made my way to the airport. (link on profile) By the time we got through arguing, I didn't have enough time for breakfast.

As soon as I step out of my car, I'm ambushed by paps, flashing lights and camera phones.

"Bella!"

"Bella, where are you going?"

"Bella! Over here!"

"Are you picking someone up?"

"Have any new projects lining up?"

Don't they have anything better to do?

It's always the same questions. I make my way past the army of photographers as fast as possible, while still trying to be respectful. I figure that if you just smile and nod they'll eventually go away. I wasn't in a particularly good mood and I didn't need any 'diva' status issues.

Once we took off, I kept thinking about what was going on with Edward and his douchy behavior. I've been nothing but nice and supportive and he's treated me with sarcasm. It's not even the funny kind of sarcasm. Frankly, it was starting to piss me off... badly. We're going to have a talk about it when I see him.

On top of my anxiety about meeting Edward, I can't sleep on planes…at all. I took a plane from L.A. to Australia last year and didn't sleep a wink. I feel like as soon as I close my eyes, we're going to crash. It's ironic because if I die in a plane crash, I'd rather be asleep when it happened.

I know. I'm eccentric

On top of that, the food was horrible. Even I wouldn't eat it.

Between worrying about what was going to happen once I got to New York, my fear of plummeting to my death, lack of sleep and my stomach growling, I was on the edge. After we landed, I felt significantly better… and hungrier… and sleepier.

I wanted to kiss the ground once I stepped off the plane, but decided against it as soon as I saw the leeches. I hear a rush of feet and look up to see a sea of flashing lights and camcorders. I guess TMZ is here too. How do they always know?

I didn't even know I was coming until last night

Once I got done answering the same mundane questions, I made my way over to the pick up area. I saw Emmett's sign and I had to laugh. It was written in Crayon.

"Is this what you think of me?" I ask, suppressing a giggle.

"It's the only thing I could find" he laughs and shrugs his shoulders.

"Thanks for coming to get me" I say and give him a hug. I haven't really gotten to spend much time with Emmett or Jasper. But, for them to grab such wonderful girls like Rose and Alice, they have to be some good guys.

I should invite them over for dinner

"You're welcome" he ruffles my hair.

Sooner or later, we're in Emmett's rental Jeep, on the way to my hotel. I didn't have the time or patience to deal with the whole rental car thing. I'll sort it out later once I get to the hotel.

"Does Edward know I'm here?" I ask, nervously.

"Nope. I don't think he'll find out either." He laughs. "He never watched t.v…. unless you're show was on."

"Oh" I answer. "I just don't know if this will upset him that's all. He's been a little…"

"asshole, doucheface?" he finishes for me. "Yeah" I laugh.

"Don't feel special." He shrugs. "He's been like that to everyone this week. It's been a real tough week for him. Try your best not to hold it against him okay."

"I'll try. I remember at one point wishing that I could jump through the phone and smack him."

Emmett laughs at my confession. "Please" he scoffs. "If he wasn't my best friend and my best earner, I would have bitch slapped him a long time ago."

"Best earner? Bitch slap?" I laugh. "What are you? His pimp?"

"If you think of it that way…yes. I treat all of my workers with the utmost respect. They take care of me. I take care of them. As long as that bitch has my 10%, it's all good."

I laugh really hard at that point. This dude is crazy.

"I'm sorry that we don't get to talk much. It's just… I've been so busy. You're really cool."

"It's cool, B." he says. "We'll just have to fix that. Rose loves you. She talks about you all the time."

"Likewise" I say, raising my eyebrows. "This forces me to warn you that if you ever hurt her in any way, I'll be forced to harm you. It will be left out of my hands." I say as seriously as the situation can allow me.

"Really?" he laughs in disbelief. "I think I can take you" he says as he playfully nudges my shoulder. I smile and nod at him.

All jokes aside, I could probably kill Emmett if I wanted to. My dad starting teaching me military-level fighting techniques when I was ten. They stopped a little after I graduated high school. When I told that joke on my comedy special, I wasn't lying. Don't let the blush fool you. I'm lethal.

"Okay" I shrug my shoulders. "It's a fair warning."

Emmett laughs harder. "Bella, Rose is your best friend right?"

"Yeah"

"You've known her forever. Right?"

"Yeah"

"Has it ever occurred to you that the only person in danger of any sort of

emotional or physical abuse is me?" he laughs. After I think about it, I start to laugh.

That's true

I can't believe we don't hang out more. This guy is hilarious. He's like the big brother that didn't humiliate me that I always wanted.

"You're pretty awesome" I admit. "I'm going to invite you guys over for dinner sometime. It'll be edible. I promise" I end with a snort, joking about Rose's cooking.

"Ooh" he shouts. "Will you bake those mint cupcakes? No. That strawberry sponge cake? No, both! Pleeeesaaassssse?" he smiles at me, reminding me of a 5 year old.

"Okay" I give up.

"Yes. I'll hold you to it." He tells me.

"I have a feeling you will." I say as I notice we're pulling up to The Four Seasons where I'm staying.

I thank him again, get my bags and run into the hotel. "Oh my God" the lady at the front desk says. "I love you."

"Thanks" I say with a slight smile.

"Would you mind?" she asks, pointing to my recent cover of Glamour.

"Sure" I say. After I give Kristen an autograph, she gives me my room key to… the penthouse? Are you serious?

Alice

I see no point in renting a penthouse suite. What's wrong with a presidential suite? They cost way too much money and I only eat, sleep and shit there anyway.  
I'm only going to be here one or two days. It's a gigantic waste of money. I can't believe she rented it. Actually, I can.

Unfortunately, I'm too tired to request anything else.

Once I get settled in my ostentatious room (which I admit is gorgeous-but still overpriced) I decide what I want to do. It's around 7:00 eastern time. I could see Edward if I wanted. I immediately decided against it. I was tired, hungry and irritable. If I saw Edward and he said or did something that pissed me off, things would not end well. Since I loved the man, I decided that I'd formulate an attack of plan later… after my meal.

I ordered chicken and broccoli pasta, a hamburger and curly fries. After I ate my meal (which was fucking delicious by the way) I thought about what I'd do. I mean, New York is a pretty exciting and beautiful city. There is plenty to do. Since Edward was working, I doubted he's gotten to actually experience it. So I researched things to do and came up with a pretty good idea. I'd use my idea of taking Edward out on a date. Personally, I thought the idea was pretty badass.

After calling Emmett, he said he'd get Edward off of work tomorrow. Then, I got the expensive tickets for the orchestra/symphony. The hardest part was getting the famous Chef Nyugen from Flames to cancel half of the reservations for tomorrow so the back of the restaurant would be empty. I don't even want to think about how much all this stuff costs.

Ahh… the things I do for love

After I took a shower, I hear my phone ringing.

_V is for Vanity Everytime I look at me I turn myself on yeah_

_I turn myself on yeah_

_V is for Vanity (what)_

_Thank you Mum and Daddy cause_

_I turn myself on yeah (yeah) I turn myself on yeah_

"Hey Rose" I say into the phone as I put it on speaker.

"Hi"

"Hey" Alice chirps in from the background. "Where in the fuck… oh! Found it."

"How you guys doing?"

"Fine" Rose alerts me. "Pixie over here sent me an S.O.S. She can't figure out what to wear." I can hear her rolling her eyes from across the country.

"It sounds serious" I joke.

"Shut up" I hear Alice yell. "I don't know if I should wear the red knee length Dolce or the black mid- calf length Gucci. I haven't even picked out what lingerie to wear yet! Speaking of lingerie, where in the fuck is that teddy I bought from La Perla?"

"I keep telling her she'll look great in anything." Rose huffs. "She doesn't believe me."

"I just want to be…wow!" Alice says.

"Just wear some slutty lingerie underneath it" I say. "He'll be grateful. It is his birthday."

"Better yet, go commando" Rose says. "Easy access"

"Please, Rose" Alice hisses. "That's so 1995. Ooh, I found it!"

"Whatever, bitch" Rose laughs. "How ya doin' Bells?"

"Fine. I'm gonna lay low for tonight. It's 10 anyway. I'll see him tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I hear Alice mumble as what sounds like clothes hangers hit something hard.

"Yeah. He's probably tired. He has tomorrow off."

"What are you gonna do then?" Rose asks.

I tell them about my plan. They agree with me that both it and I am brilliant.

"What are you going to wear? Shit! The one time I actually pack according to your demands you pull shit like this. I didn't pack anything appropriate" Alice rants. "You don't have any slutty lingerie. What are we gonna do? Why can't you stick to the plan?"

"Uh… sorry?"

"Whatever you do, I'm sure it'll be fine and you can have everything sorted out." Rose tells me.

I hope so

"Don't worry. I'll set everything up for you once we get off of the phone. Jazz won't be here for another hour" Alice rushes. "You should have told me you were going to be spontaneous, Bella. Now I have to work overtime."

"Then it wouldn't have been spontaneous." Rose and I laugh. Rosalie laughs louder.

"I'm giving you the finger Bella, in case you're wondering" Alice hisses from a distance. "Where in the shit are my black fuck me stilettos?"

"Which pair?" we both laugh. "The one with the thing on it!"

Every time we go shopping, Alice buys at least one pair of "black fuck me stilettos." She says you can never have enough… and she likes to keep Jasper guessing.

After another 10 minutes of "Let's hear Alice try on clothes," I hand up the phone and go to bed.

I was surprised to find that I slept a lot better than I had the previous week. Was it because I was somehow near Edward? I don't know. All I did know was that

hopefully by tomorrow I'd have answers to my questions.

I was in heaven when I woke up the next morning. I didn't have anything important to do so I got to sleep in an extra couple of hours. Part of me wanted to sight see but I wasn't in the mood to be hounded and I also didn't want to run the risk of ruining the surprise if Edward saw me.

It was around 12:00. I decided to just chill out in my room. I got bored immediately. In a fit of desperation, I put on some workout clothes and went to the gym. After working out for 2 hours, I went back to my room where I was reminded that I had a spa appointment scheduled.

Alice

It was worse than I imagined. Full body scrub, sea weed wrap, manicure, pedicure, wax…everything. During my experience, I told myself that I'd plan a unique form of payback for Alice for spending this much money. Even though the experience was painful, I didn't dislike it as much as I normally would have. I like looking sexy for Edward. So if this is what it took…so be it.

Now came the time I was dreading. I had to call Edward and tell him my plan. I must have dialed his number at least 6 times, only to press the cancel button before it started to ring. What will he think? Does he even want me here? Does he even want me at all?

All of my insecurities came rushing to me, making it impossible for me to notice the phone was ringing until I heard Edward pick up the phone. I was so nervous, I didn't know what to do or to say. So I did what I normally do. I started off with a joke. During the conversation, I was glad for the first time during this whole ordeal that he couldn't see me because I was sure that my face didn't look okay as I sounded on the phone.

Surprisingly, he wasn't an asshole. He almost sounded…normal. I was practically shitting my pants as I told him where I was. However, he seemed pretty excited about our date. After I got off of the phone, I tore through the luggage Alice packed for me and tried to find something to wear. For the first time in my life, I was truly nervous freaking out about my wardrobe.

Maybe Alice's debacle wasn't so stupid after all

After a shockingly long amount of time trying to find something appropriate, I hear my door knock.

"M-miss Swan?" asks a hotel employee name Tim. "Yes."

"I-I have some p-packages for you to sign for." He stutters nervously, handing me that package. "I loved your special… and your magazine cover. You looked ho… I mean sex… pretty. You looked pretty.

"Thank you" I say, grabbing the package while blushing.

"You're welcome" he rushes before darting off into the hallway.

After I close the door, I shake the boxes. I wonder what they are. I always like to guess when I get a package. It's like early Christmas.

Eventually, I find a pair of scissors in my overpriced hotel room to see what Santa has given me. In the first package, there is a gorgeous mid calf black dress with ruffle detail on the shoulders. The second package contains a pair of sky high black heels with a cute bow on the back. Then, I looked at the third box. Oh God.

Alice

In the third box, I found a washcloth that was trying to pass as lingerie. To be honest, I think my favorite Barbie I had when I was a kid had more fabric than this outfit. The funny thing is, this scrap of fabric is probably expensive as Hell.

I'm going to shank Alice the next time I see her.

Once I figured out my form of revenge, I realized that there was a note inside the box.

_I know you're probably somewhere plotting our death. We don't care. This shit is hot and you'll look hot in it. Everything will turn out fine. Edward won't be able to keep his hands (or cock) off of you once he sees this. Trust._

_Now, go out, woo your man and later be the slut we all know you have the potential to be. Relinquish control to the power of the panties._

_PUSSY POWER!*fist pump*_

_-Rose and Alice_

_P.S. Yes. This was very expensive._

I can't help but laugh at their sentiment. That is one long ass card. They had to write on both sides… and tiny writing. I look at the clock and notice that I should start getting ready.

I step into the shower and try my best to wash away the nerves and uncertainty I feel towards this whole situation. How could things have changed so quickly? Once of the things I love about Edward is that I'm able to be myself with him…eccentricities and all. Now, I feel awkward. I haven't felt that way in a long time. I'm going to get to the bottom of it. I need to get to the bottom of it.

Never again

After I do my makeup and hair, I let my curiosity get the better of me and I try on the fabric swatch Alice and Rose got me with the heels I saw earlier. I'm not a particularly vain person. However, I must admit that I did look kinda sexy in this outfit. I started thinking and got scared.

What if Edward and I made love tonight? Will I measure up to the other women he's been with? I'm not stupid. Edward is a devastatingly attractive man. I'm willing to bet that he has a lot of experience in the sex arena. If his oral performance two weeks ago was any indication of his other abilities, I am outmatched. Would I live up to the 12 year hype? I was afraid I wouldn't when or if that time came. I don't have a lot of sexual experience. To be nearing 30, I guess you could say I have a little next to none. Let's just say that Miss Kitty exiled herself from Cocksville and hasn't been

back in a very long time. But that story is for another time. In the middle of my inner monologue, my alarm signaled that it was time for me to go. I didn't want to be late so I put the dress on over the "lingerie" and go outside to where the limo is waiting.

When Edward came outside, I was speechless. I thought seeing the man in jeans and t shirt was a vision. I was wrong. So wrong. Edward in a suit is to die for. Seeing him walk towards the door of the limo, I had to stop myself from hopping out of the car and attacking him on the sidewalk in front of innocent civilians. Some drool may or may not have come out of my mouth. When he finally stepped into the limo, our eyes met and he smiled at me. It wasn't fake or forced. It was an honest smile. At that moment, I realized that I made the right choice coming up here because I got to see him. I was genuinely excited to see how this would turn out. Hopefully, he'd feel the same way about going public. Also, whether he felt the same way or not, I was going to tell Edward Cullen that I loved him.

I hope this dishrag is absorbent

Our date started out wonderful. He felt me up in the limo. It was great. Then, it happened. I told him that I want the whole world to know that he is mine and I am his. Hearing him say that he wanted the same thing too was one of the best moments of my life… quickly followed by one of the worst.

"I can't." That's what he said. He can't. At first, I had a hard time wrapping my head around what I'd heard. Then it hit me. It only got worse. As I heard him tell me about his predicament, I found myself numb. He kept things from me. He was rude to me because of something completely out of my control. Then, he insulted me.

That was the last straw. Before I could say something I'd regret too, I got out of the limo.

How could he do that? How could he agree to pretend to be in a relationship with someone else? Was I not good enough? Not serious enough? This got me thinking about his comedian comment. That hurt worse than anything. I may not be the best actress in the world, but I'm pretty fucking proud of what I do. In the comedy game, if you don't have a dick, you're pretty much screwed. When you're a woman, you have to try twice as hard and be objectified constantly. Not to mention how my projects are held at a different standard than those of male comedians. God forbid I tell a dirty joke. Then, I'm accused of being crass and un lady like. If a male's moviefails, they get a million and 1 excuses. If I were to ever have a bomb at the box office (thank God I haven't), the whole thing would be blamed on me. That's how it works.

As I continue the walk back to my hotel, I try my hardest to fight the tears threatening to spill from my eyes. Luckily, I find a pair of sunglasses, so I wear those to conceal the evidence of a shitty night.

I didn't make it 5 minutes before I was spotted walking down the street. "Is that…"

"Oh my God" "I love her"

"She looks gorgeous"

I hear people acknowledge me as I walk by them. I smile, wave and nod but my smile doesn't reach my eyes. I don't sign any autographs. I don't take any pictures. I don't feel like pretending right now for my fans. I really don't feel like pretending for the paps outside of my hotel either that are barreling toward me.

"Bella! Whose dress are you wearing?" "Going somewhere special this evening?"

"Is there a guy you don't want us to know about?"

This is one of the few things I hate about New York. Ruthless paparazzi. This time, I skip the pleasantries and dart straight to the door. I don't even bother with them tonight.

After I make it to my room, I head straight for my bed. I don't even take my

clothes off. I just cry my eyes out, hoping to go to sleep. However, sleep escapes me. I can't seem to get past tonight's events. I look around to see that it's around 10:30.

I call Rose, hoping that she's not too busy.

"It's 10:30 New York time!" Rose whispers curiously. "Why aren't you having wild monkey sex with Edward? You didn't wear the lingerie did you? Damn it…"

Before she could finish her sentence, I burst into tears again. I tell her everything. She doesn't interrupt as I'm talking. She just listens. After I finish, I listen to the deafening silence on the end of the line.

"Rose?" I ask.

"I'm going to kill him" Rose deadpanned.

Is she serious?

"Rose…" I start

"No" she interrupts. "I gave him a fair warning. I have to keep my word. I hope he has insurance"

"Can they even do that?" I ask.

"It's happened before. A lot more than you think, actually." She starts. "Did he tell them he was seeing someone? You?"

"I didn't ask. I don't know what to do" I confess with a whimper. "I don't know how I'm supposed to handle it. I mean, I love him. But, it kills me to even think of him being with someone else, even if he doesn't like her. Maybe he doesn't feel the same as I do."

"Stop" Rose interrupts. "Edward loves you. That much, I'm certain."

"Then why is he agreeing to this?" I ask. "How could he do that if he loves me?"

"It's not like he wants to. It's in his contract. He could get sued for breaching it."

"Are you defending him?" I ask, hurt.

"I'm no defending anyone. I'm telling you the truth" she starts. " Did you guys…break up?" she asks hesitantly.

"I'm not sure" I tell her. "I got out of the car when he made the comedian comment. I can't believe he said that to me" I add in disbelief. "I just want to go home" I confide in her.

My flight is scheduled for tomorrow at 2 in the afternoon. Right now, all I want to do is go to sleep in my own bed and forget this ever happened. I might change my flight so I can come home earlier.

"No" Rose orders. "You're going to talk to Edward. No more running from your problems, remember. You've come a long way these past 9 years, Bella. You don't run from shit anymore and you won't stop now."

"I'm scared"

"I know" she tells me gently. "But, you owe it to yourself to see where you two are. If you don't do it now, when? They're probably going to start their "relationship" as soon as they land in L.A.. If you wait until then, who knows what will happen" she reasons.

"I don't know what to say" I confess. Ever since I was little, I've always had a comeback for everything. That's why being a comedian comes so natural to me. Now, I feel lost.

"But you will" Rose insists. "Listen. Go to bed. Tomorrow, talk to Edward. Whatever happens, I'll be there. Okay?"

"Okay" I give up. I'm tired of fighting with people tonight.

"I'll go."

"I mean it. I'll ask Emmett if you went. Trust me. You need to go"

"Fine" I say. "I'll talk to you later."

"You bet your ass you will" she says confidently. "Bye. Love ya" she adds, before hanging up.

I put my phone aside and try again in vain to go to sleep. I notice that I'm still in my clothes from earlier, but I can't find the energy or inspiration to change out of them. I keep thinking about how I left things with Edward. Are we over? Does he think we're over? I'm confused. I feel like it's high school all over again. All the question I asked myself went unanswered. I only knew one thing. I wouldn't be able to think or sleep until I solved things with Edward.

Before I knew what I was doing, I put on my shoes and bolted out of the door on my way to get my car. Earlier, I had a car delivered in case I ever felt like going out. At first, I thought the idea was stupid. Now, since the paps knew I was in town and was currently outside. I needed to make a quick getaway. Fortunately, I was able to make my exit unseen. Within 20 minutes, I was walking down the hallway to Edward's hotel room. I figured he'd be in the penthouse suite. Edward always has the best in everything.

As I raise my hand to knock on his door, I realize that he left the card key in the sensor already. I slowly walk into his room and notice several things.

1. The lights are turned down low.

Sex lighting

2. Vanilla scented candles are lit across the entire suite

Sex candles

3. Rose petals are scattered in a pattern on the floor leading to where I guess is the bedroom.

Sex trail

I'll admit, the setting was terribly romantic. There was one problem. I didn't have anything to do with it.

I sit in the entryway, and take in all that is in front of me. Is this the real reason why he's been a dick? Is there someone else? Is that why he can pretend with someone else? Does he even care at all?

I feel the water pooling in my eye lids as I see Edward's jacket on the couch…the same jacket that I picked for him to wear on our expensive ass date that I took him on. I sat at home for an entire week going out of my mind while he was here fucking around on me. I take him on a date to suit his interests while his slut decorates his room for an all night fuck fest.

I feel used. I feel naïve. Worst of all, I feel stupid. It's like Riley all over again. I'm not a lovesick teenager who'll fall for anything anymore. I'm a mature, grown ass woman. Knowing this, makes the pain feel a thousand times worse. I actually love

Edward. I thought he loved me. And he's here…fucking someone else.

For the first time in a long time, the joke is on me.

He really is a great actor

I wanted to run back to L.A. and cry myself into oblivion for being so stupid. How could he have ever been interested in me anyway? As I make my way to the door, I hear the sound of a woman laughing.

Oh Hell no!

At that moment, I decide that maybe it was a good thing that no one knew I was dating Edward. That way, I wouldn't be a suspect when I killed him.

It felt unreal. Call me a masochist, but I had to see for myself. I wanted to see who she was. Maybe if I saw it, it would make it easier to move on even though I doubted I'd be able to regardless if I saw or not.

I slowly walk down the hallway to the bedroom door. I hear them talking. I listen harder.

"She's not my problem" she laughs. Who isn't her problem? "I don't care" You should care, slut. He has a fucking girlfriend.

"I do. We just went out. She came all the way here to see me. So you need to leave"

At that moment, my heart soars. Here I am, plotting his death and he's kicking some slut out of his room. I love him so fucking much. At that moment, I forget about what we're arguing about. After hearing him deny this woman who obviously wants him out of loyalty to me, I fall more in love with Edward Cullen.

I'm so eccentric

"Where is she, then? Because if I had you on my arm looking that sexy, I'd be taking all kinds of advantages"

You're gonna find out in a minute.

"Lauren." Edward says, in his warning voice.

What the Hell? Oh Hell no! Lauren? Lauren Mallory?

Briefly, I wonder why I haven't made myself known yet. Then, I realized that hearing Edward reject Lauren is perhaps the sexiest thing I have ever witnessed. Plus, it's a little funny. This bitch can't take a hint.

"Look. People are going to think we're dating anyway. Why not just go with it?" Okay. That's the last straw. Is that why she came up with the idea? Not only does she want to parade my boyfriend around like a prized showdog, she wants to seduce him too.

Bitch

"I like this game we're playing" I hear her giggle. I can't see her face because Edward is standing in front of her. I choose that moment to step from behind the wall and make my presence known. "It's so, WHAT THE HELL?" she screams. Edward jumps and slowly turns around and jumps away from Lauren.

I thought my lingerie was bad. Everything is see through. No class.

"Bella" Edward whispers and takes a step closer to me.

"Shut up, Edward" I say. "I've got some business to take care of."

Don't worry, baby. I've got this

"What the Hell is she doing here, honey?" Lauren asks.

Oh no! Bitch mode engaged!

"He's not your honey, bitch" I say, taking a step closer. "You need to leave"

"I'm not going anywhere" she says. "I'm his girlfriend."

"No. You're not his girlfriend. I'm his girlfriend. You're his stalker. You can leave or I can throw you out."

"Or what?" she takes a step closer, trying to intimidate me.

"Honestly, I don't know what I'd do" I say, in my aloof voice. "But I'd hate to be the bitch I did it to."

She's starting to get on my nerves. How does Edward stand her?

"Pfft. Please" Lauren scoffs, while turning to look at Edward. "Edward. Really? The chick from Halfsies? That's who you're seeing? You're turning me down for Bella Swan." She laughs.

"Yes. Yes I am." He says, with a smile on his face. For a second, he looks into my eyes and I feel it. Love.

"What's wrong with that?" I question.

"What isn't wrong with that?" she starts. "He's out of your league. I'm a nOscar nominated actress. What's the best thing you've won? An MTV award? Please"

"Lauren!" Edward yells. "Stop. Leave! Now!"

"That's okay." I wave Edward off. This is personal. " If I showed my tits any chance I got like _some_ people, I probably would get nominated too. Don't fool yourself into thinking people take you seriously Trailer Trash Barbie. You're nothing but a glorified porn star"

"And people take you seriously?" she laughs. "You tell cum jokes for a living." She adds. Once again with the comedian jab. What is with everyone? I see and hear Edward flinch at this comment, no doubt thinking about the similar comment he made earlier.

Shit is about to get real

"And I make more money than you doing it. That's gotta sting a little." I've been in the top 10 female earners in entertainment for the past 5 years. I'm not one to bring up my accomplishments to rub in people's faces, but this bitch is pissing me off.

"I don't think Edward took your… 'relationship' too seriously when he got hard during our sex scene this morning." She says with a sneer, followed by a smile.

Huh?

"Where are all your smart ass comments now?" Lauren giggles.

"Bella, I can explain that." Edward says, taking a step closer to me. I hold up a finger. He takes the hint this time. I need to think.

I take a step closer to Lauren to the point where we're face to face. I look her in the eyes. "I want you to listen to what I'm about to say very carefully. I may not be some award winning actress. But do you wanna know what else I'm not? I'm not some desperate whore who has to force people to pretend to like me and try to seduce men who clearly don't want me. But I am someone who fights for the people they love and honey… I always win. So, unless you want to get physical with this confrontation, I suggest you leave with what little self respect and dignity you have left."

At that moment, I had nothing else to say to her. I didn't come here to argue with her. I came here to talk, and most likely argue, with Edward. I wasn't going to waste anymore energy on this woman. I turn around to stand by Edward just as I see Lauren's hand in my peripheral vision. Before I knew it, Lauren lunged at me and Edward caught her mid stride and pinned her arms behind her back.

It's a good thing, because if she hit me I would have gone Rambo on her ass.

Edward just saved her life

"Leave, Lauren." He orders. "I mean it. Get your shit and get the fuck out of my room" I noticed a trench coat on the floor so I go to grab it and hand it to her.

"I believe this is yours" I say, as I hand it to her. She snatches it from me and puts it on. As she makes her way to the door she turns to me.

"This isn't over." She hisses at me before storming out of the door and down the hallway.

"She seemed so much nicer on t.v." I mumble, shaking my head at tonight's turn of events.

I sit there in the open doorway, thinking. Eventually, I close the door and turn around to face Edward.

Here goes nothing


	16. Chapter 16

**I know this is a previously posted chapter. Please go back on chapter. I added a new one. I forgot to post it.**

EPOV

Damn. When I first saw Bella come from behind the wall, I'm not gonna lie. I was shitting bricks. It looked bad. I knew it. I was more than prepared to get on my knees and beg her to let me explain. I'm talking some serious begging. Historic begging.

I would have put The Temptations to shame.

What does she do? She surprises me by nearly putting her sexy ass shoe up Lauren's ass. Lauren is a person who is almost impossible to deal with. The fact that she didn't lay a finger on Lauren, even though I'm sure she wanted to, heightened

my respect for her immensely. Just when I almost forget she's not like any other girl, she does something awesome and surprises me. In that moment, she wasn't the small, vulnerable Bambi I know. She wasn't some defenseless deer. She was a

tigress protecting her territory. I'd never seen her so angry. So fierce. So sexy.

"She seemed so much nicer on t.v." she mumbles, while shaking her head after

Lauren finally storms out of the hotel. She leans on the door for a brief second

before saying, "We need to finish what we were talking about earlier" before turning around and making her way over to me.

I see her face and it makes me believe that everything is going to be okay. She stayed.

She fought for me. She defended me.

That has to mean something. Right?

I open my arms, engulfing her in a hug. She seems so small here. I feel this animal urge to protect her from harm- both emotional and physical. I place my chin in her hair and enjoy her scent and the ever present shock that awaits everytime we touch.

She leans back to look me in the eyes before leading me over to the couch. "Okay" she says, taking a deep breath. "Tell me what happened"

"It was the day that I left to come to New York." I start. "I got on the plane and noticed that Lauren, Jane, Aro and Jane's agent were on the plane. I knew something was off because I was told that I'd be flying solo."

"Mhm" she says, still holding my hand.

"Anyway, we take off and Aro and Jane tell me that they thought of a way to promote the movie. So I said okay." I backtrack. "I didn't know what they were talking about at first. I thought they were talking about interviews, junkets and shit like that. You know?"

"Yeah" she urges. "Keep going"

"Then, Aro told me about the whole 'pretend I like Lauren thing." She squeezes my hand. "You have to understand Bella, I fought them on it. I fought them every minute of the entire fucking flight. 6 hours."

"Didn't you tell them you had a girlfriend… that you were dating me?"

"Yes" I say as I turn her chin towards me to look her in the eyes. "I told them I was seeing somebody. I didn't know if you still wanted to keep us secret so I didn't tell them I was dating you. But I did tell them that I had a girlfriend that I am serious about."

She pauses. "Are you going to have to…" she leads off, like she's searching for a word, "touch her and stuff?" she finishes with a sense of disdain.

I nod my head and I see her eyes shut as she presses her head into the couch

cushion.

"None of this explains why you were such an asshole" she deadpans.

"Once I found out, I felt like shit that I'm essentially stuck in this situation. I failed you, Bella. After I had time to process everything, I convinced myself that once you found out that you'd leave me" I start. Her face scrunches in confusion. " I guess I acted that way as a coping mechanism, thinking it would hurt less when you left. "

During my explanation, I notice her face contort into various emotions, mostly confusion. She shakes her head, subtly. I continue my story.

"That's why I distanced myself. You can't imagine how shitty I felt. You were only trying to make me feel better and I pushed you away." I finish, lowering my voice at the end. "Then, you came here to visit me and took me out on that awesome date" I smile a little thinking about the lengths she went to surprise me. "No woman has ever done that for me before. Ever. It means so much… to know that you went through so much trouble after I'd been such a dick to you. I didn't deserve it. I'll remember it for the rest of my life." I look up to see a small smile play on her lips. "Then, I fucked it up with my big mouth." Her smile drops.

"You did" she agrees with me, nodding her head as her eyes narrowed slightly. "That hurt." She starts. "What you said."

Shit

"You think I'm not pressured every day?" she asks. "I've had to fight stereotypes and double standards constantly. I may not be some award-winning actor but I take pride in what I do. I got where I am by my talent and ambition." She slightly hisses, shaking her head. "I didn't suck anyone's dick or fuck some old geezer to get fame, which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of people." She pauses for a while.

I gently touch her cheek as her eyes slowly look into mine. "I'm soooo sorry, Bella" I say with all the sincerity my voice can muster. "I love what you do. To be where you are in the industry you're in, it's unreal." I tell her as her eyes cast downward. "You have no idea how fucking proud I am of you, baby." I tilt her chin up to see her face to find that her eyes are glassing over.

Oh, God. Anything but this

"Please don't cry, baby. I can't bear it."

Fuck. I thought. I fucked up worse than I imagined.

"It gets old, having to pretend that your life is one big comedy every second and laugh everything off. I'm not allowed to have a bad day. So for you to say that, even though I know you didn't mean it, it still stung."

"Bella" I start and I scoot from the couch to the floor, take both of her hands into mine and kiss her knuckles. "I am so sorry. I hated myself immediately after I said it. Tell me what to do to…"

"I know you didn't mean it" she tells me. "It's just… I've always been sensitive about it. When you said it, it just brought back that insecurity. Then the whole thing with Lauren and…"

"That was a one-time thing" I stress to her. "I was drunk. She was there. I don't even…"

"It doesn't matter" she interrupts. "You're an attractive man, Edward" she states. "I know you had a life… a sex life I mean… before you met me. I'm not naive" she sniffles

I didn't really have a response to that comment. Most women would have some sort of question or insecurities about the other women that their boyfriends have slept with. Yet, Bella is rejecting any sort of information about it, even if it is over an embarrassing and stupid mistake like sleeping with Lauren.

I'm not calling myself a whore by any means. But, I'd been having sex on a semi-casual basis since I can remember. I've never had a problem in that department. It's not like I went out and picked women up for my own amusement or anything. It's just, if I had an itch, I usually got it scratched.

"But…" she leads off. "Did you really get a… on set?" she asks, effectively triggering my mortification.

Oh God

"So you did then?" she questions, her eyes casting downwards.

Shit. I said it out loud.

"Yeah" I confess while holding her hands tighter. "But it wasn't because of her" I

tell her, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks." Her forehead creases in confusion. "

- 272 -

We were shooting the sex scene" I start and her eyes light up in recognition. "and I was having a hard time concentrating. Aro was really grilling me to get it right. We were at it for a good hour before Aro got fed up with me and made everyone take a 5 minute break." I shake my head at the memory.

"I wanted to get it over with so bad. It was nerve wracking being basically naked

in front of strangers with a person you hate being naked on top of you. So…I thought of you." I say, while brushing a piece of her hair around her ear so I can get a better look at her. "Your taste. Your smell. How you make me feel. Everything, Bella." I tell her as her eyes look up to meet mine. "You're the only woman I see that way. The only one that I want."

The only one I'll ever want

"That's it" She says as she gets up from the couch and walks towards the bedroom door, facing it. We each sit on our sides of the room in the longest silence we've ever held.

Is she breaking up with me? Is she leaving?

"If I'm the only one you see this way, how can you pretend to love someone else?" She asks as her voice cracks. "To see you two on red carpets together, to see her hug you, you kiss her in front of the cameras, you two thanking each other for support when you win awards." She pauses. "I don't know how I can take it" she whispers as a large tear falls from her eye.

At that moment, I walk over to her, wrap her in my arms and rest my chin on her shoulder.

"I don't like her." I love you. "Baby, I don't even like her as a human being." I

confess as I wipe her tears.

" I know." She sighs, leaning into my hand. "It's just… I want that with you and I can't have it. I…I…I" she closes her eyes as if she's trying to find courage. " I love you, Edward" she whispers.

At that moment, my heart briefly filled with joy. I'd already Bella tell me she loved me in her sleep. But, hearing her actually voice it awake felt all kinds of unreal. I'd waited years to hear her say it. However, the fact that her big, beautiful eyes were filling up with tears tore my heart that she was crying and it was my fault. Her stepping out of my arms also alerted me that I hadn't said anything back.

"I-I know it's too soon" she argues. "We've only been together two months."

"Bella-"

"But, I love you and I can't help how I feel" she continues. "Bella-"

"I'm sorr-"

"BELLA" I say as I grab both sides of her face to make her pay attention. "I love you so much, it's pathetic" I voice in a soft whisper. Her lips turn into a smile. I place a gentle kiss on her lips. Eventually, our mouths and hands are ravaging each other in passion. I thread my hands through her hair, pulling her closer to me as I deepen our kiss, mingling my eager tongue with hers.

"Tell me again" I whisper into her mouth, before gently nibbling on her lower lip and moving to her neck.

"I love you" she breaths into a moan. "I love you so much" she whimpers. She gently pushes my shoulders, signaling me to stop. "And when you love someone, you make sacrifices" she says.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying it's okay" she says as her glossy eyes bore into mine. "I understand and it's okay."

"Bella," I start

"What's the alternative? Break up?" she asks. The suggestion alone broke my heart. "I don't want to be without you. I can't. I know it'll be hard. It's not that long, in the grand scheme of things. I waited 12 years. I can wait 3 or 4 more months" she shrugs. "But, I'd rather have a piece of you then nothing" she confesses. "Lauren can have your image. I have your heart" her voice cracks. "That's enough. For now."

I'm dumbfounded. I didn't know what to say. How can she be so selfless? I try putting myself in her shoes, wondering what I'd do if our situations were reversed. Honestly, I don't know how I would handle it.

"Edward?" Bella asks, ghosting her knuckles across my cheek.

"Yes" I answer her.

"Kiss me" she orders as she presses her small frame against mine.

I oblige her request and mold my mouth to hers, hungry for her touch. This kiss is different. Apart from passion, there's a hint of desperation and best of all…love.

I slowly walk us backwards to where Bella's legs hit the side of the bed. She leans back on the bed, wrapping my tie around her fist bringing me down with her before she starts to kiss down my neck. I slowly grind my erection into her cloth covered center, growling as I feel how wet she is for me.

"Edward" she whispers against my ear as her hips starts to move with mine. I snake my hands underneath her the bottom of her dress, earning a throaty gasp from Bella. I feel my cock stir in my pants as the feeling of silk and lace registers under my fingers.

"Make love to me."

I stop to look into her eyes. Was she ready? Were we ready? I'd had fantasies of this moment for years. But, I didn't want Bella to feel like she had to do this because of everything that has happened.

"Bella, you don't have to do this to keep me" I tell her as I place kisses over her face. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know" she tells me, leaning into my touch. "If tonight is all we have, I want to make the most of it. I love you and I want to give myself to you." She tells me. "Make love to me, Edward"

I look into her eyes to search for uncertainty only to find none. As I look at her eyes the only things I see are lust, trust, and love. And with those that look, I become her slave.

My hands ghost along her sides, slowly gathering her dress as I move along. She lifts her arms up, helping me throw her dress to the floor, revealing what she's been wearing underneath.

Shit

My eyes begin to roam over her silk, lace and mesh lingerie. The sides of her body are made visible by mesh. The silk cups holding her heaving with breasts, runs into lace, which runs down her toned stomach to the apex of her thighs. She looks sexy, showing just the right amount of skin without revealing everything.

A growl escapes my throat as I realize that she'd had this on the entire night and I'd been unaware. I crash my lips to hers again, letting my hands roam over her body. I had to stay connected to her in some way.

I'm too caught up to realize that Bella loosened my tie and unbuttoned my shirt forcing me to break our kiss to get my shirt off. I unbuckle my pants, eventually kicking them off my feet to where I'm just in my boxers.

I slowly pull down the straps of her teddy to her hips, exposing her breast to me. I immediately take her left nipple in my mouth, enjoying the feel of it pebbling under my tongue, while kneading her right breast in my hand. I relish in hearing her moan as I turn my attention to her right nipple, briefly nuzzling my face in her bosom along the way.

My lips continue their quest down her stomach. I feel the muscles in her stomach quake in anticipation as I slowly kiss and lick my way down to her apex. I push the fabric of her teddy the rest of the way off of her body exposing the rest of her to me. I keep the heels on.

I place light kisses across her pelvis until I finally reach her promise land.

"Fuck" I hiss as I fight the urge to plunge into her as I see and smell how wet she is for me.

"Oh God" Bella whispers as I run my nose along her slit, followed by my tongue and the tip of my finger, in an attempt see, smell, taste and feel her arousal.

I thrust my finger inside her entrance, earning a moan and swear from Bella. I solely move my digit in and out of her, curling it slightly as my thumb works over her clit. I want to put my mouth on her, but I'm enjoying the view of her head thrashing against the pillow, while grasping the sheets as my hand ravishes her.

"Edward" she gasps as I add another finger and increase my pace. I then circle my mouth around her clit before sucking into my mouth. "Jesus… " she moans at my ministrations as I feel her start to contract around my fingers. I begin to thrust my tongue in and out of her entrance, replacing my fingers. "I'm gonna" she whimpers

as I move my tongue up and gently bite her clit, forcing her over the edge, clenching around my fingers. I quickly lap up her arousal, not wanting to waste a drop.

I look at Bella, resting on her shoulders, breathing heavily while biting her lip, I feel my cock twitch in anticipation.

I slowly make my way back up her body. I suck her bottom lip into my mouth before biting it, causing her to moan. I help her free me of my boxers when I realize she's trying to take them off. "Damn" I hiss as she wraps her hands around my cock, causing her to smile against my lips. She starts to stroke me to the point where I'm so hard it's almost painful. If she kept it up, I'd come.

I have to be inside her

"Baby" I say as I grab her hands. "I'm not gonna last if you keep that up. I need to be inside you."

"I'm here" she whispers to me.

I grab my pants off the floor to get my wallet. As I grab a condom out, Bella grabs my hand, stopping me.

"I don't want to use one" she tells me. "I've been on the shot since forever and I'm clean. I understand if you want to though. I…just don't want any barriers between us." She breaths as she looks into my eyes.

In my 29 years of life, I'd never gone bareback. Ever. I'd always thought the t stakes were too high. What if the girl got pregnant? One of my greatest fears has always been having a child with a person I didn't love. But, with Bella everything is different. I love the thought of being inside her with nothing between us. I love her more than my own life. If she did get pregnant with my child, I'd be fucking ecstatic. Plus, in some way, it would make her my first.

"You sure?" I ask, placing the foil packet on the dresser.

"Yes" she says, placing a small kiss on my lips which eventually turns passionate. I graze her clit with the tip of my dick before I place myself at her entrance. "Edward" she whimpers in a plea.

I can't wait any longer.

"I love you" I whisper before I slowly push into her

"Fuck" we both grunt as I slowly thrust into her, furthering inch by inch until I'm buried to the hilt.

Damn. She was tight. She was wet. She was warm. So fucking tight. I can feel everything. Her slickness. The veins in my cock against her walls. She feels as though she's been made for me. It's incredible. She's incredible. At that moment, every other sexual encounter I'd ever had paled in comparison.

She's perfect

I look into Bella's eyes and feel the spark that accompanies our every touch. Except this time, it's a thousand times stronger. It feels as though I'm being shocked from my head to my feet.

"Oh" Bella gasps. "Do you…"

"Yeah. I feel it. You feel so good, baby" I say as I begin to thrust in and out of her with long and slow thrusts. I feel her hips push back to meet my thrusts, causing my eyes to roll into the back of my head.

We're like a well oiled machine, a locomotive powered by lust, bringing us closer and closer to our destination.

"Ah…Edward" she screeches, arching her back at a particularly hard thrust as I pick up my pace. She crosses her legs behind my back, sending me even deeper inside her.

"You're so good…so tight…Bella" I whimper as I place kisses all over her mouth and neck before sucking one of her nipples into my mouth and tweaking the other with my thumb and index finger.

"Mmmm" she moans, as she threads her fingers through my hair, the heels of her shoes digging into my ass. "You're so big."

Hearing that set me off. I look at her. The sight of her sweaty from our lovemaking, biting that damn lip panting, it made me want possess her.

I inhale her scent as I drop my face into the crook of her shoulder, increasing my pace and hardening my strokes.

"Oh, Go…Edw…yes…yes…yes!" she screams as her hips continue to keep in time with mine. "Just like that!" she adds as her small hands grip my sweaty shoulders, dragging me down on top of her.

"Bella…didn't know...I could…feel" I stutter, my vocabulary decreasing by the second. "Fuck!" I shout as I feel her clench her pussy muscles around me.

"I'm about…I'm abou..." she mumbles.

"Cum. Cum for me, baby" I command. I was barely holding on myself. To be honest, I'm surprised I lasted this long.

I reach my hand down and start to work her clit to our rhythm, sending her over the edge.

"Edward!" she yells, as I feel her walls clench around me. I yell her name in return as I follow her off the cliff into the abyss, filling her with all I

We each lay on our sides staring at each other smiling. After we catch our breath, I gently pull out of Bella, causing us to groan as the loss of connection.

I think my cock actually protested.

"I love you, Edward Cullen" Bella says, gazing her beautiful brown orbs into mine before placing a kiss over my heart.

"I love you, Isabella Swan" I tell her, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"Wow" she says. "You're the only person I've met who can make Isabella sound sexy." She giggles.

"IIIIISSSSAAABELLLLA" I say it again, causing her cheeks to turn red. "I love your blush" I tell her as my finger grazes her cheek "and your laugh". I kiss her lips. "You are my life now. You know that don't you? I love you so fucking much" I tell her as a fat tear rolls down her cheek.

Fuck! I made her cry

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"I'm not sad" she interrupts, laughing at me. "I'm happy. That's the sweetest thing anyone ever said to me."

I smile as I take her into my arms.

"I 'll be right back" I say, causing her to laugh as I sprint to the bathroom. After I finish up, I wet a washcloth with hot water to wash Bella up.

"Such a gentleman" she teases as I finish wiping her.

We lie back on the bed with Bella's back leaning on my chest in a comfortable silence. She intertwine our fingers and kisses my knuckles as I place a small kiss behind her ear.

We hear the hotel phone ring and Bella answers it because it's on her side. "Hello?" She asks. "Oh…Well… we're terrible sorry about that" she mumbles, shaking her head. "Have a nice night" she says before hanging up the phone and

dropping her head to the pillow and shaking her head. "What?" I ask, confused.

" We got some…complaints" she blushes. "Apparently, we were too loud. That was the front desk."

I tried to remain calm and aloof. But, I must admit. That shit boosted my ego.

"I can hear you smiling" she laughs and elbows me from the front before yawning. "What can I say?" I ask. "You did rock my world."

"How sweet. Same here, boyfriend." She tells me before yawning again.

I decide to shut up and let her go to sleep. Eventually, I hear the sounds of her mellow breathing. She looks so beautiful.

"I love you, Bambi" I whisper softly in her ear before nodding off to sleep myself.

I wake up to my bladder, causing me to snake out of bed. I look to the clock to see that it's 7 in the morning. I put on my boxers, and head to the restroom.

As I walking out of the bathroom, I'm greeted by Emmett, who slams me into a wall.

"Ouch" I whisper shout at him. "Dude" he says. "What the fuck?"

"What the fuck, what?" I ask him. I am genuinely confused at this point.

How did he get in my room? What is his problem?

"You cheated on Bella, you dick. One argument and you follow your dick to sluttier pastures" he whisper shouts at me before smacking me upside the head.

He's been hanging around Rose too long

"You don't"

"She's fucking awesome. She's smokin' hot, nice, and she fucking bakes!" he shouts at me. A look of terror overcomes Emmett's face. "I swear to God man" he warns. "If you fucked up my chance to get some more cupcakes or strawberry cake…"

"Relax Emmett" I hear my angel say, her head peeking out from the door frame. "Your desserts are safe" she laughs. "You're so loud, you even woke me up."

"Oh" Emmett says, letting go of me. "Uh…sorry" he tries to look everywhere but at

Bella.

"It's okay. That's for defending my honor. Even though… it didn't need saving." She says.

"Well…" Emmett says. "This is awkward." "Can I ask you a favor, Emmett?" Bella asks. "Yeah"

"Can you grab some clothes from my hotel at The Four Seasons?" she blushes. "I can't do the walk of shame in front of the paps. Plus, I'd like to spend some more time with Edward before I leave back to L.A."

"Sure" he says. "You" he says, pointing to me, "need to be on set by 12" he adds, as Bella gives him the keys to her rental with her card key and he makes an exit.

"What time are you leaving?" I ask. I was dreading this time. Sooner or later, our bubble would burst and we'd be thrust back into reality. Unfortunately, it was sooner rather than later.

"12" she confesses. "I picked an earlier flight." "Why?"

"When we got in that fight, I wanted to leave earlier. I was angry." She looks down at her feet.

"I'm sorry. I was such a … I can't believe that…"

"Shut up, Edward" she says, rolling her eyes. "It's over. We're passed it. We have a plan"

I pull her naked form out from behind the door and hug her close to my body. "I can't imagine what I'd do if you weren't in my life" I tell her honestly.

"You won't have to find out" she tells me as she stands on her tip toes to kiss me on my chin and places her arms around my shoulders. "God, I love you."

"I love you too"

"I need to take a shower" she says, as she walks away. "Can I come?" I ask her.

"Hmmm" she says, as she 'thinks' about it, resting her chin between her thumb and index finger. "I guess I could get a little dirty before I got clean."

After some fun in the shower, Emmett came back with Bella's clothes. She dresses in a black and white sweat suit with some black and white checkerboard vans. The outfit has "JUICY" written across the chest and ass. (pic on profile)

Juicy indeed.

She's freestyling underneath because Emmett felt "icky" going through her underwear.

He better be

I order breakfast for us. Pancakes. Bella loses her shit because she's soooo hungry. Now, we're in the living room eating pancakes and watching The Incredibles at 9 in the morning.

"I love this movie." Bella gushes. "If they do a sequel, I wanna be in it."

"You'd make a good superhero" I say. "I've always had a crush on WonderWoman." "Oh really now?" she asks, raising her eyebrows while taking a bite of eggs. Then

she moaned.

"Damn. I hope I made you moan like that" I laugh. She punched me in my shoulder. It hurt.

"Shut up. I was hungry. I hadn't eaten in forever. You know how much I love food." She says. "And for the record… you can make me moan louder than pancakes ever could."

I smile at that.

"Edward?" Bella asks, nervously.

"Mhmm" I say, rubbing my finger over her knuckles.

"Did I… live up to the hype?" she asks. "You know… the whole 12 year thing. Were you…disappointed?" she cast her eyes down, blushing.

Disappointed? There's no way in Hell I could have been disappointed. What is she talking about? Fuck Disneyworld. Bella's vagina is The Happiest Place on Earth.

I plan on becoming a lifetime member. The only one.

I grab her chin, tilting her head up to meet my eyes. "Bella, you surpassed every expectation I didn't even know I had. You are so amazing. Everything about you is perfect. We fit together in every way. You couldn't disappoint me. Ever."

"It's just that, you probably have so much experience with women while I have

next to no experience with men. I'm just curious that's all" she shrugs her shoulders.

"Every other woman pales in comparison to you. I love you. I want to be with you. They don't matter." I tell her as I pull up from beside me and sit her on my lap to where she's straddling me.

I start to think further about this conversation and Bella's comment about not being very experience comes across my mind. The fact that she was so tight suggests that she couldn't have been with many people. The possessive boyfriend in me had to know.

"Bella?" I ask her. "You said that you didn't have much experience. What did you mean by that?"

"I…uh… I've only had two partners. Ever" she tells me, shifting in my lap uncomfortably. "You included."

I steady her. "That's okay." I tell her. "Don't be ashamed of that." "Are you mad?" she asks.

"No" I tell her.

To be honest, the way she handled me last night, I wouldn't have been able to tell she hadn't had much experience. Honestly, knowing that she even had sex with another man upset me and I felt awful about it. She didn't care about my past because it wasn't her business like the other man isn't mine. However, to the fact that another man on this Earth knows what Bella feels like from the inside irks me. It also makes me want to hunt him down and kill him.

"It's just that my in first real relationship, when I started college," she begins and she starts to shift in my lap again. "It ended really badly. I went to a dark place after that." she says as if she's thinking about something. "It's hard getting your heart broken. I guess that it made me gun shy for a while, huh?" she laughs, nervously. "After that, I promised myself that I wouldn't have sex with anyone unless I loved them. Now, here we are."

"Okay" I say, giving her a kiss. "Thank you. For giving yourself to me like that."

I had a feeling that there was some vital piece of information that she was leaving out. I decided that I'd leave it alone because I didn't want to upset her with her leaving in a few hours along with everything that is going on.

"I have one more question. One more. I promise." She says. "Shoot."

"Why do you call me Bambi sometimes?" she asks, genuinely interested. "You said

- 284 -

it that time…I went down on you." She blushes. "Then you said it again earlier this morning."

Shit

I don't think I'm ready to admit to stalking her yet.

"You said that it was your favorite Disney movie. Plus, you have Bambi eyes. They're all brown and sparkly and stuff." I mumble. Now it's my turn to blush.

"Okay" she says, smiling. "Then, we're gonna have to give you a Disney name." she smirks at me. "Your favorite movie is The Lion King right?" I nod my head,

wondering what she's gonna do. She runs her hands through my hair and smiles. She places her head in the crook of my neck and begins to lick, suck, and place kisses all over my neck. As she makes her way to my ear, she pulls my earlobe between her teeth, biting it softly. I growl at the contact. "MUUUFAASA" she whispers against my ear.

"Mufasa"

"Say it again"

"Mufasa! Mufasa! Mufasa!"

"Ooh, it tingles me" she ends it, us both falling over it laughter.

"Really" she starts. "Mufasa is an excellent name for you. He's an excellent leader,"

"Everybody loves him" I continue, causing her to roll her eyes. "Humble" she laughs.

"Total badass" I add.

"Plus," she pauses. "He has awesome hair." I laugh it that.

"Be my Mufasa, Edward" she laughs.

"Okay" I say.

- 285 -

"And the lion fell in love with the lamb." "Bambi was a deer."

"Close enough." She laughs as her phone rings.

"Hello?" she answers. "Already? Okay. See you." Just by hearing her answers, I know that she's about to leave and my heart tears. She hangs up and looks to me with tears in her eyes. "I have to make my way to the airport."

"I know" I say as she gets off of my lap. I help her as she gathers her things and heads to the door.

She stands in the hallway by the front door and I pull her into the tightest hold I can imagine, smelling her hair because I don't know the next opportunity I'll be able to do that.

"I love you" we say at the same time, Bella laughs and says, " I love you too" as I say it back.

She walks out the door and I walk her to the elevator. I can't say goodbye. The elevator chimes and she steps inside. Finally, the door closes and she's gone.

BPOV (Surprise!)

The elevator doors close and I see the numbers on the board decrease and I feel free to cry. The decision that I made to stick with Edward throughout this whole mess is, without a doubt, one of the hardest decisions that I've had to make.

To be honest, the visit I made to Edward's room didn't go as planned at all. I'd come there with the expectation to of speaking my piece and walking away. Then, my heart got involved. Love got in the way. I forced myself to think from his perspective.

What would I have done if I were in that situation? It's easy for me to say what I would do, but the truth is that I don't know what I would actually do if I had to think about it. So, I said it was okay. However, I don't regret it, because I get Edward's heart. That's what matters.

I hadn't planned on telling him that I loved him. I hadn't planned on making love

to him either. But, hearing seeing his face and hearing he felt the same way crashed down every wall I'd had against him. Because I love him. I'll never forget making

- 286 -

love to Edward. How attentive he was. Soft yet firm. Gentle yet aggressive. I don't regret anything. Because I love him.

I'm letting him do this because I love him. And, just like I told Edward, when you love someone you make sacrifices. This was my sacrifice.

I look at the buttons in the elevator and notice that I'll have to get off soon. I pull my dress out of my bag to wipe my eyes and put on my sunglasses, trying to ready myself to meet the world.

The bell dings and I make my exit from the elevator to a sea of light bulbs. "Isabella" they mostly shout, trying to get my attention. I do the customary greet,

smile and wave as I make my way to my car. It's a good thing Emmett already

packed my car. That way I won't have to deal with them more than I have to. "Over here"

"Look this way, please"

"Are you in a relationship with agent Emmett McCarthy?"

Huh? How did they arrive at that conclusion? I laugh at how wrong they are. How do they even know Emmett?

"No" I laugh, rolling my eyes behind my glasses. "He's dating my friend." I say as I

try to walk the last 20 feet to my car.

"He was seen picking you up from the airport, stopping by your hotel room. And this is his hotel."

Damn. That's why they think that.

"Like I said before, he's dating my friend. He was helping me as a favor." I say, getting aggravated.

The paps are being particularly hostile today. One hint at a rumor about my dating life and they swarm around like crows fighting over a corpse. I guess a story about me sleeping with my agent/best friend's boyfriend would be a nice payday. It's ridiculous.

For a normal person, it would have taken a grand total of 15 steps to get to my car. Me, I'm stuck in a standstill of photographers who refuse to move. "How does Rose feel about you and Emmett?"

Ok. Honestly, they don't plan on hearing what I have to say.

"Can you move please?" I ask the group in front of me standing in front of my car door as I'm walking to the door. I'm answered with another light bulb flash.

This time, it was too close. I can't see what's in front of me and I trip over someone's shoe. I feel my feet lift off the ground as I go flying through the air. It's gonna be a bad one. The paparazzi close by then decide to move, no doubt to get a better angle to witness my fall.

I brace my hands to brace my fall as I feel a pair of familiar arms wrap around my torso, sending a shock through my entire being.

"Edward?" I turn around, shocked. He's still wearing what he was wearing earlier, a wife beater, sweat pants and socks. I didn't know if I should hug him or not, with the paparazzi around.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that I have my "what the fuck?" face on. "Are you okay?" he asks, running his finger across my cheek.

"Yeah" I answer, my face breaking out into a blush.

At this gesture, the camera lights start to go off in rapid succession as more people gathered around in the ground.

"Edward" "Bella"

"Are you together?" "How long?"

"How do Rose and Emmett feel about this relationship?"

Seriously?

"She asked you to step aside" Edward says to the pap who stood in my way.

"Sorry" they say collectively as they move out the way. One even opened my car door for me.

What did I say? Mufasa

Edward grabs my hand and escorts me into the car. As I move to close the door, Edward's hand grabs the door before grabbing me by my hair and leaning in for a simple kiss. I oblige.

"Fuck it" he whispers in my ear before closing the door. He pats the top of the car, as I turn the car on and drive away.

Huh?


	17. Chapter 17

**EPOV**

I stood in front of the elevator doors for a good two minutes after I saw the doors closed. Everything that happened last night kept running through my head.

How am I gonna get through this?

How is Bella gonna handle everything? Will she be able to wait for me?

Every time I tried to bring up the arrangement, Bella would tell me to shut up. I know we, and by 'we' I mean 'she' came up with a plan, but it left me a little unsettled.

I didn't like our situation. I hated it as a matter of fact. So, I know that Bella must hate it as well. Plus, I hate Lauren's guts. It would have made the situation a 'little' better, had my fake girlfriend at least been a decent person. But, sadly, this isn't the case. The sheer nerve and craziness to come here last night shows how evil, slutty, desperate bitch that she is.

Three months of HELL

I walk down the hallway back to my room. However, it's not the same. Her smell still lingers. I can still hear her laugh. I can taste her on my lips. But, she's not here. And that upsets me.

I miss her

I sit back on the couch and stare and the indentation in the couch where she was sitting. I fight the urge to run my hand over it, but I don't want to ruin it.

This is pathetic

I walk around the suite, feeling miserable and empty as a result of her absence. I look inside the bedroom, where the sheets are still tangled from the love we'd made the night before and I feel myself become physically sick.

I look at the clock to see that it is only 11:05. Bella only left 5 minutes ago and I already feel like I'm about to fucking die. We're going to be miserable. I go to the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face.

How am I going to survive this?

Then, I asked myself the most important question.

What in the fuck am I still doing here?

Before I realize it, I'm running down the hallway with no shoes on, barreling towards the elevator.

Bella told me that when you love someone you make sacrifices. This is one sacrifice she shouldn't have to make. It's one I won't let her make.

"Where are you goi…" Emmett starts.

"To let everyone know about me and Bella" I interrupt as I stand in front of the elevator.

"But…"

"I know and I don't care"

"Okay" he says, while grabbing his phone out of his pocket. "I'll let everyone know you'll be a little late. This is going to be an awkward day." He shakes his head at me. "You never make it easy for me, do you?"

I shrug my shoulders as the elevator opens. I pat Emmett on the shoulder before stepping inside.

11:08

I ride the elevator down, cursing it's slowness the whole way. I hope she's still here. She probably still is. For once, the annoying paps are good for something.

The elevator eventually stops at the 3rd floor, where I'm recognized by a group of what looks to be like college students.

"Oh my God!"

"Edward Cullen!"

"You're so hot. I love you."

I smile, say a quick thank you, and make a quick exit towards the stairs. I finally make it to the parking deck where I'm appalled at what I see.

The paparazzi have always been known as leeches. But, I've never been truly disgusted until now. All I see is a sea of cameramen around. Some are even pushing each other for better spots and angles. I even see bystanders taking pictures with their phones and recordings. I can imagine this will be on someone's facebook or twitter account before the next 30 minutes are over. All the flashes are aimed ahead at Bella I guess. I can't see her, but I can hear the questions she's being asked.

"Are you in a relationship with agent Emmett McCarthy?"

"No. He's dating my friend."

The fact that anyone would accuse Bella of doing something so horrible as to sleep with her best friend's boyfriend is insane. She'd never do that to someone. The paparazzi get more aggressive with their questions.

"He was seen picking you up from the airport, stopping by your hotel room. And this is his hotel."

Before this can get any worse, I start to make my way through the crowd, pushing paps out of my way. I didn't care about being polite right now. I had to get to Bella.

"Like I said before, he's dating my friend. He was helping me as a favor."

"How does Rose feel about you and Emmett?" a man in front of her car door asks her.

"Can you move please?"

At this point, the one man in front of Bella's car starts taking pictures in rapid succession. He's trying to get a rise out of her. Bella probably doesn't even realize. Bella is known for being a genuinely nice person. Everyone loves her. She's America's Sweetheart. In all the years, there's never been a photo of Bella going apeshit. I can imagine how much a picture or video of that would be worth.

I make it to where I can actually see Bella as she trips. I catch her, knowing that people will see and pictures will be taken. As she slowly turns around, I catch the glimpse of a smile followed by confusion.

She doesn't know if she can acknowledge me

That breaks my heart. I make up for it the only way I know how. I kiss her in front of everybody muttering, "Fuck it" in her ear.

I meant it. I don't give a shit what happens, as long as everyone knows that she's mine.

After she drove away, it was my turn to be questioned. "How long have you two been together?"

"How does Emmett feel about everything?"

"Is it serious?"

I keep my mouth closed and make my way back to the room. Except, this time hotel security had to escort me because there was too much chaos. When I step inside I get a phone call from Jasper.

"Hey man" I greet him. "How was your birthday?"

"Great man. I spent it with Alice." He answers.

"Did you now?" I tease.

"Yep" he answers. "By the way, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?"

"I went public with Bella, like I wanted."

"YAY!" I hear Alice shout in the background. "I knew you wouldn't go through with it!"

"Oh" he relaxes. "I thought it was bad. I went to take a shit. Within the last 5 minutes, I've gotten at least 15 calls asking for a comment on what happened today. No one told me what happened. I got scared." He rambles.

Alice is rubbing off on him

"Yeah" I laugh. "I mean, I breached my contract but… hey. What can you do? There's no way in Hell I'm pretending to date that harpy."

"Okay. So I'm guessing I'm…"

"Don't say anything"

"Okay. See you later dude"

"Alright. Tell Alice I said hi."

"Will do" he says before he hangs up.

After that, I get ready and a car comes to pick me up and take me to set. I walk on set and am greeted with hellos and congratulations. It feels good. Then, I see Christina, Aro's assistant come towards me.

"Um…Edward" she starts. "Some people want to see you." She tells me.

"I figure so." I tell her and let her lead the way.

I enter the room to find Lauren, Jane, Aro, Lauren's agent, and Emmett sitting at a table, staring at me.

"Finally" Jane huffs, slamming open a folder.

"Sorry I'm late" I say as I take a seat next to Emmett, who seems to be my only ally at the time. Emmet is still playing with his phone.

What the fuck Emmett? Now isn't the time to be playing TapTap

"I told you this wasn't over." Lauren says.

"Edward?" Jane asks, getting my attention. "What do you think you're doing? We had a deal." She says, sliding the contract with my signature on it in an attempt to intimidate me.

"I'm doing exactly what you think I'm doing" I rebuttal. "I'm not letting you rule my life. I want to be out in the open with my actual girlfriend."

"What you should be doing is whatever the fuck we tell you to. You broke our contract. You know that right?"

"Pretty much. Yeah."

I'm over the intimidation technique. Tell me my punishment so I can be done with theses assholes.

"Mr. and Mrs. Volturi, Mr. Cullen," Lauren's agent interrupts. "You all and my client had an agreement as well." He finishes. "It was agreed that in promotion for the movie, Mr. Cullen and Ms. Mallory would engage in a 'relationship' which was supposed to be beneficial for all the parties involved."

"Are you kidding?" I ask. "Beneficial to who? Lauren? She's only wants this to pimp my name to get more famous than she already is on top of hoping that I get drunk enough to sleep with her again. If you think she's trying to help anyone other than herself, you're crazy. It doesn't matter anyway because it's not happening."

"Unfortunately, you don't really have a say." Jane tells me. "You signed the contract. You must fulfill your obligations or face the consequences. They include… a fine, on top of another lawsuit for breach of contract. Honestly, I think I could make another couple of things stick also. Don't fuck with me Cullen. You'll lose every time. Why didn't you tell us you were dating her anyway?"

"Because I don't pimp out my relationship for my career. Also, it's none of your fucking business." I shout.

"I could make it my business." She says silently. "We've spent a long time trying to build up this relationship, dropping hints at all the right gossip rags. It's been hard work. You're not gonna fuck it up. How would you like it if we pulled Bella into this?" she asks, leaning over the table staring directly in my face.

Bluff

"How?" I ask.

"I said that we've worked very hard at this. Swan has the whole "good girl next door, America's sweetheart thing going for her. What would happen if word got out that she… seduced you and stole you away from Lauren?"

"What?" I shout.

"Let's look at the timeline shall we." Aaron continues. "You and Lauren work together on an gut-wrenching, heartfelt love story about love conquering all and somehow, you fell in love for real. Then, Bella comes along with her cavalier attitude and sarcasm and somehow… you stray. Lauren would be devastated. How could you do that to her, Edward?"

"Can you imagine? America's Sweetheart: The Homewrecker. It would ruin Bella's image. The media would rip her to shreds. Of course, you'd come out relatively unscathed. Men never really take the heat in scandals like that. They always blame the woman. Look at Brangelina. Plus, you're an attractive man. It's natural that you'd be attracted to Bella. She's…pretty." He smirks.

"You…You can't do that" I say. I'd been so confident before. I can feel it dwindling. "Bella has nothing to do with this."

"Yeah. We can" Jane says, while throwing down a folder filled with pictures. They're of me and Lauren. There is even a photo of her leaving my house that morning after we slept together. We're laughing and smiling. Photoshop. There is even one where my arm is around her. We looked friendly. They look real.

I look at the paper behind the pictures to see false statements and sightings about my 'relationship' with Lauren dating back to the beginning of shooting. Apparently we're very private about our relationship and Lauren's been worrying that I'm cheating on her for the past 3 months.

Next, she places an article in front of me. It's about me, Lauren and Bella. It includes the pictures of me and Lauren. They're sharp and in focus. The article has pictures of me and Bella in the elevator at the hotel before she left. They're grainy, but you can tell it's her. You can tell she spent the night. I glance over the article titled, "Lauren's Silent Suffering" to learn that it has nothing to say about Bella.

Apparently, I've been cheating on Lauren with Bella and Lauren knows about it and has for the entire time. Apparently, I cheat all the time and Bella is just the new flavor of the month. Lauren doesn't care because she loves me too much and she knows that I love her too but I have problems staying faithful. Lauren feels sorry for Bella because Bella thinks I'll leave Lauren for her but I have no intention of doing so.

Lauren is the victim. Bella is a whore. Me? I'm only mentioned in 3 sentences.

"Whether you like it or not," Jane starts. "you dragged Bella into things when you decided to get bold. I'm done being nice. If you don't go along with the program, we will sue you and I'll personally ship different variations of this story to every tabloid in the country."

I look in her eyes to see that she's not joking.

I don't care what happens to me. I never did. But I can't let this happen to Bella. She likes to play tough, but this would kill her. It would kill me thinking people felt this way about her.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Admit to sleeping with Bella" Lauren starts, with the ever-present smirk on her face, "during our relationship. You two are just… old friends who just decided to get together while you were in the same city. It didn't mean anything." She says, her smile turning into a full scale evil smile. "Don't worry, Edward." She says in her 'sincere' voice, "I forgive you."

I take another peek at the 'evidence' they've gathered and I feel my hands start to shake. I look to Emmett. He hasn't said a word for the entire meeting. I see the words printing on the paper and I literally feel sick. Which is worse? Pretend not to love her or pretend pretend to love Lauren. I look around the table to see everyone staring at me. Emmett is still on his fucking phone. He looks both interested and bored at the same time. Jane looks expectant. Aro looks aggravated. Lauren looks smug. Aaron looks nervous. Personally, I was surprised at how quickly my emotions went from fear to rage.

How dare they threaten Bella? It's okay for them to throw their threats at me. But, to attack someone who I love only because they love me, it's hideous. What is this? The mob?

At that moment, I didn't care anymore. I didn't care what they said about me or Bella. Because we'd know the truth. That's all that mattered.

I snatch my hand away from Lauren and dramatically push my chair back, standing. "No" I say calmly. "Take your threat and shove it up your ass."

"Fine" Jane says, pulling out her phone, dialing a number. "You asked for it." She stays on the line. "Print the stor…"

"I don't think you want to do that." Emmett says, finally looking up from his phone.

Now he wants to say something

"Why is that?" she asks, sarcastically while holding her blutooth to her ear.

"Because you need to listen to what I have to say." Emmett says in a casual voice.

"I'm all ears."

"I, too, have something to present." He says, while passing out papers with some sort of stats on it. "These are traffic reports from the movie's website and youtube. Hits for the movie's trailer increased 20% in the first 30 minutes people found out about my boy Eddie and his girl Bella. It seems that this won't hurt the movie at all. This leaves your first argument invalid."

"Now, let me tell you a story. It's about a bitchy producer who can't stand to be outsmarted who teams up with a fame whoring celebrity to manipulate Edward Cullen into a relationship with someone he doesn't love… or even like for that matter."

Jane rolls her eyes.

"I've been recording this entire conversation. I've just been biding my time, waiting for you two to loosen enough rope to hang yourselves. It happened a lot quickly than I anticipated. I wonder how people would perceive you, Jane. Or how about you, Lauren? Having to blackmail someone to get a date. That won't look good at all. I can't believe you two would try to ruin two people's lives because you didn't get what you wanted. "

Silence

"I'll tell you what's about to happen. We're gonna wrap up shooting today. You won't print the story. Edward will not date Lauren. He'll do whatever the fuck he wants. Why? Because he's and actor, not your bitch. If I hear any negative remarks about Bella, Edward or their relationship to suggest any of the untruths you just suggested. I'll leak this video, along with all of the photohopped pictures and this God-awful article, to every media outlet that has someone on staff that can read English. Hell, I might even have it translated into every major language so that everyone in the world will see how crazy and desperate bitches you are. How does that sound?"

More silence

"Listen you…" Jane starts.

"Shut up, Jane!" Aro interrupts. "I only went along with this because I'd thought it'd help the project. Leave the boy alone. What's happened to Hollywood?" he throws his hands in the air, cursing the Heavens. "I wanted to work with Cullen because he's a talented actor. I still believe so. I'm tired of this shit. Let's just get shooting over with." He shouts again and storming out of the door.

More silence

"I'll take this resounding silence as an agreement to my offer. This has been fun" he says as he gets up from his chair. "I'm heading to McDonald's. I'm craving a Big Mac." He says, heading out the door. I follow him out.

Honestly, I'm in awe of Emmett. I've never seen him go off like that. "Amazing, huh?" he asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah… just wow." I say. "That's why you were so interested in your phone?"

"Yep" he answers, popping the 'p.' I even zoomed in when the vain in Jane's forehead popped out.

"Good. I was going to kill you later, for being so silent."

"Never, man. I'll always have your back. Bella's too. She's good people. I wouldn't let anything bad happen."

"Thanks"

"Would you have gone through with it?"

"Not a chance in Hell. I couldn't call her a one night stand. She's my life. I can't hurt her like that."

"Damn" he says, stopping in his tracks at my confession. "Edward's in looove. Edward's in loooove" he charts to tease me with his chant.

There is the second grader I know and love

"Shut up" I shake my head.

"Dude, look at this" he orders, showing me his cell phone.

There it was: pictures of me and Bella's high school pictures alongside with current photos of us with a caption: **THEY'RE TAKEN!**

It's started.

I wanted to include this yesterday. But, I cut it short to go shopping for my mom's birthday. She turned 60 today.


	18. Chapter 18

BPOV

Wow. That was…unexpected. Awesome. Yet, unexpected.

I go over the events that just transpired and can't grin from ear to ear, running my fingers over my lips. I'm so fucking happy. I look in the mirror and I'm surprised there aren't yellow feathers sticking out of my teeth.

I also look and find that I'm being followed by paps…again. I should have asked if there was a more secretive section in the parking lot.

Tired of listening to the sound of the tires on my rental against the pavement, I turn on the radio.

"Welcome to 95.5 The Beat, New York. Let's start off with a bit of gossip. You'll never guess who is supposedly together now…"

I switch the channel. I don't want my good mood to be soured after what all has just happened. After I turn, I soon find out that the news about me and Edward is everywhere.

It only happened like 20 minutes ago.

This is crazy. Plus, I doubt hearing false statements about mine and Edward's relationship will bode well for my day either. I decide to think about Edward… and his eyes… and his smile… and his peen of wonders.

Mmmmm….Yeeaaahhh….

I'm content in my happy moment.

Now that I think about it, what was Edward thinking? I mean, I'm ecstatic and everything. But, isn't there going to be some sort of consequence for what he did…or didn't do?

I look at the clock in my car and realize that it's 11:30. I've been moving at a snail's pace, as a result of my pap tail. I hope I make it to my plane on time. As I agonize over my situation, I hear my phone buzz. It's my mother.

Uh. Oh.

I decide that it's better not to take that call while I'm behind the wheel. It would end badly.

As I think about it further, I feel guilty that my family had to find out about me and Edward like they had. I meant to tell them. It's just at first I wanted it to be just us, then Edward turned douche on me and I didn't want to tell them then. Then last night. Next thing you know, the whole world knows.

I'm gonna get it when I answer the phone.

I get another call on my phone, pulling me out of my thoughts. This time, it's Rose. "Yeah?" I answer.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" I hear Alice and Rose shriek in my ear. I swerve my car and almost hit a taxi.

"Ouch!" I whine/yell into the phone, putting it on speaker as I nod my head in shame at the taxi driver. "Guys, I'm driving. You know I have bad nerves."

"Oh my God" Alice starts. "That was sooo sweet. We're watching it on Youtube right now."

"She's watching it" Rose adds. "I'm sitting here referring journalists to your publicists for your comment. Couldn't you have given me a little warning you two were going to buck the system?" she asks. "I'm not wearing the right shoes for this."

"My apologies to your feet." I say.

"I've been having an…eventful couple of days." Rose deadpans. " As soon as you get here, we need to talk."

"But I'll be tired." I whine.

"Doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, you're still on the clock. What time are you getting back?"

"I guess, 3:00 pacific time. It might be later, though. I might miss my flight. I'm driving like Morgan Freeman because the paps are riding my ass trying to take pictures."

"That comes with the territory, babe" Rose adds.

"Don't worry. I'll fix it." Alice shouts from the back. "Everything will be fine."

"If you say so" I exhale.

"I imagine the paps will be there to hound you when you land. I'll arrange for security to escort you to your car." Alice says.

"Thanks"

"You're welcome"

"Alright, Bella. Call me as soon as you get home. I gotta talk to you. Seriously." Rose says.

"Fine" I huff. "Okay"

"See ya" they say in unison. "Bye"

By the time I make it to the airport, it's 12:05. I'm pretty sure that I missed my flight. As I pull up, I notice several airport security at the entrance. When I pulled up, one got in the rental and drove off to return it. The others escorted me amidst the sea of photographers to check in my bags and see me through security. By the time I got on the plane, it was 12:20.

I step onto the plane and have this strange sense of awkwardness. The whole plane silences. As I walk to my seat, everyone stares at me…awkwardly. The men on the plane stare at me longer than usual with a slight sense of disappointment while the women on the plane look at me like I'm their hero.

Weird.

I sit down in silence, waiting for the plane to take off and hear my phone buzz. I smile as I check the I.D

"How are you? Are you okay?" Edward asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I laugh. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Good" he says. "They were more ruthless than usual. I just wanted to know if you got on your plane okay"

"Ahhh, my Mufasa" I sigh. "My fearless protector."

"Well… that's what I'm here for." He says, sarcastically.

"Thank you." I say, honestly. "You didn't have to… you shouldn't have-"

"I did it cause I wanted to, Bella. I'm tired of the bullshit" he exhales harshly. I imagine him pinching the bride of his nose or running his long fingers through his unruly hair. "I'm yours. You're mine. Now the whole world knows."

"I just don't want you-"

"It's fine. Everything is fine. It'd worth it. You're worth it." He whispers into the phone.

Great. Now I'm wet on a plane with no spare panties.

I laugh "I love it when you get all…noble."

"I know. You think I'm this way in real life?" he asks, giggling.

"Damn" I sigh. "I knew it. I've been had."

"Sucker" he laughs.

"Shut up"

"Make me"

"Well…" I start off.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for flying with us today. We ask that you turn off all phones in preparation for our flight." I hear the captain say over the speaker.

"I gotta go." I say. "I'm already scared of planes. I don't want to be the reason everyone on here dies."

"Awww" he whines.

"I know"

"Bye."

"Bye."

"I love you." He says into the phone. Swoon

"I love you too." I reply.

"Call me when you get back."

"As soon as we touch down, I'll call you."

"You better. Don't make me punish you."

"When you say that… maybe I won't."

"Bella…"

"Bye Edward." I say before hanging up and laughing.

"Awww" I hear someone say from behind me.

What was that?

I turn around to see a lot of awkward faces. Ooookay.

I turn back into my seat and turn on my iPod. I feel a tap on my shoulder.

"Excuse us" I hear several voices say to me. I open my eyes to see 4 teenage girls smiling at me.

"We love you." The leader gushes as she steps forward.

"Thanks, you guys." I smile

"Would you mind signing an autograph for us?"

"And a picture?" the shortest one asked.

"Uh…sure" I say, getting out of my seat to take autographs and sign their books.

"Thanks" they say in unison, as they begin walking back to their seat.

As soon as I sit back in my seat, I feel another tap on my shoulder. "Yeah?" I ask, turning around.

"Edward Cullen?" one of the girls asked. "Fist pound." She says, holding out her fist to me. I accept. "You're the man."

Wow.

The girl goes back to her seat and I finally sit down in my seat in peace as I feel a vibrating in my pocket. I forgot to turn off my phone. I look at the screen to see a text from Rose.

**Rose: Call me when you land ASAP. I need to talk to you. Please.**

Rose never panics.

What's wrong?

The plane ride was more like every other plane ride I'd ever taken. Shitty food. Scared awake. Autographs. Pictures. It gets kind of monotonous once in a while.

After a long six hour flight, I step off the plane to a waiting mob of paparazzi and cameras.

"Bella"

"What do you have to say about your relationship with Edward Cullen?"

"How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"Is it serious?"

Alice stayed true to her word and had security waiting for me once I arrived. I tune out the questions and make my way to my car where I slowly drive away.

Around two hours later, after I get back to my house I recognize that my phone is still off. I turn it off and see that I have 15 missed calls. 7 from various family members, 5 from Edward and 3 from Rose. I also have several text messages. I didn't have to guess who they are from.

**Mom: R U fucking serious? Edward Cullen? Really?**

**Dad: Congratulations! After 29 years, you've finally driven your mother insane.**

**David: You lucky bitch! Damn. I was hoping he was gay.**

** Gran: Good job!**

**Daniel: Cool. My girlfriends think your boyfriend is "hawt". Ewww. **

**Mom: Answer your phone! Don't run from me.**

**Dad: Thanks, Bella. Really. It's been a really low key morning.**

**David: Please call mom. Seriously. Her calling habits are disrupting my work schedule.**

**Gran: If you don't put an end to this madness, I'm going to have to kill your mother.**

**Daniel: Come on! This is getting fucking ridiculous. You're only making it harder on yourself.**

**David: Call mom!**

**Daniel: Take it like a man!**

From the messages, I can tell that I'm in for it. I was wrong and I know it. This being said, I should probably get the easier stuff out of the way first.

Yeah. I'm stalling.

I call Edward first. My Mufasa.

Sigh.

"Bambi" he says.

"Mufasa" I giggle. Ahh… I love that name

"You made it in okay?" he asks.

"Yep" I affirm. "It took me longer to get home than usual. The vultures have descended."

"Damn" he says. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad" I tell him. "It's nothing we can't handle."

"Damn right"

"How is the rest of your shooting going?" I ask. "Is is awkward?"

"Uh…" he starts. "Not anymore" he finishes, after a sufficient silence. "Let's just say that Emmett earned his paycheck today."

"Was it too bad?" I ask. I don't want him to suffer.

"Nope" he says. "Minor stuff."

"Okay." I relent. "When are you coming home?"

"I'm gonna be a couple of days" he says. I frown.

I miss him

"Awww" I say. "I miss your hair."

"Oh that hurt"

"I mean, I guess I miss you too. You're a pretty nice bonus... among other things" I add slyly.

"I feel a lot better."

"You know I'd love you even if you had a cul de sac."

"What's a cul de sac?" he asks.

"You know? When a guy only has hair on the outside of his head and it resembles the cul de sac in your neighborhood."

"Huh?" he asks confused. I wait for it to sink in. I hear an intake of breath followed by loud laughter.

He got it

"I'm glad to know that your love is unconditional" he says.

"I'm happy you know it too." I say, laughing slightly. "Let's just hope that never happens" I add after a couple seconds.

"You and me both" he says, causing us both to burst out in laughter.

"All jokes aside, I really do miss you already" I say, sitting down on one of my steps as Captain comes out of his room to snuggle beside me.

"I miss you too" he says. "It feels like forever since you've been gone."

"I know. It's hard being away from you." I say softly into the phone, running my fingers through Captain's hair.

From that point on, we just sit on the phone and listen to each other. I never thought I'd be content with just listening to someone breath. We just sit there in silence…until I hear someone banging on my door. It's Rose and Alice.

"I gotta go" I tell him. "The WonderBitches are here. It sounds important. They're banging on my door like it's the Wall of Jericho."

"Damn" he laughs. "Those two are vicious. You should answer."

"Then answer, I shall." I say, heading to the door.

"Thanks for the phone call, bitch!" Rose huffs, entering the door.

"Yeah!" Alice says, following her.

"Alright" I hear Edward say. "I love you."

"love you too"

"I'll talk to you later."

"You better"

"Bye"

"Bye" I say, as we hang up.

I walk into my living room to see Rose sitting in my chair with her legs crossed and Alice tapping her foot speedily.

"Okay" I say, waving my hands. "Lay it on me."

"Ahhhh!" Alice says, running towards me to envelope me in a hug. I knew this was coming.

"I knew he wouldn't do it." She boasts. "Rose told me what happened and I was like, 'he's not gonna do it'." She says, in her hyper way.

"Well…"

"And then I saw him running through the paps to get to you and it was so fucking romantic." She gushes. "Was it really like that?"

I smile and nod my head. She shrieks. Again. Except this time, my ears were ready.

"That's great" Rose smiles, joining our group hug. "You deserve it. Besides, I wasn't looking forward to that jail sentence I was going to have to serve for battery and assault." She says, with a straight face. She's serious.

"Wow" I say, with a slight giggle. "I'm lucky to have friends who'll serve hard core time to avenge a wrongdoing."

"That's right" Alice says, sitting down on the couch.

"Enough about me" I say. "What is this news you all have to tell me?" I ask, looking at Rose. I haven't forgotten her panic ridden text message.

"I almost forgot." Alice says. "Jasper told me he loved me last night." She says, excitedly.

"Oh my God" I say, hugging her. "How?"

"Last night was his birthday. So, we went out for a nice dinner. The waiter kept giving me the sexy eye and hitting on me" she giggles and rolls her eyes. "then, Jasper squeezed my hand and shouted, "stop looking at my girlfriend like that. I love her and you can't have her." She laughs. "He shouted it and everyone stopped to look at our table." She finishes in a far off look. "He actually told me he loved me after that, of course. It was perfect" she finishes. After a long bout of silence, we all start laughing.

"That's memorable" I say, patting her back.

"Yeah" Rose says in a small voice. "That's wonderful." She says, before going in her bag to get out her computer.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" she says. "Business stuff."

"What kind of business stuff?"

"Well, you're starting the recording of the songs for Digital Girls tomorrow. I got a call the day you left. They want you to sing an additional song and give you an additional 5 minutes in the movie… for the same price. They tried to sneak it past me. I got them from 2.5 to 4 million. That's assuming you want the extra responsibility. It means being on set another 4 days to a week. However, it shortens your break from DG to Anyone But You. I told them I'd talk with you about it."

"Umm..." I say, thinking.

The break between the two movies is always short. I only have a two week break as it is between shooting. I was hoping to spend time with Edward during that time.

"Can I tell you later? I need to figure some stuff out." I tell her.

"Sure" she says, smiling putting the laptop away.

"Hopefully by Friday. They've been riding me about it."

"Now onto the juicy stuff" Alice says, pulling her computer out of her purse." "Where are you guys getting your bags? And, why are they so big?" I ask astounded.

"Jealous" Alice states, as she puts her computer on her lap, throwing everything she had in her purse on the floor. I help her pick her purse off of the ground and find amazing clothes sketches.

"Alice, these are awesome." I compliment. "Are you a professional?"

"Uh…no" she says softly, grabbing the sketches out of my hands and putting them back inside her purse.

'Well you should. Those are great." I smile.

Alice smiles back, but it doesn't reach her eyes. I let it go. "So, what do you have to show me?"

"I just think it's really funny that you're now part of a Hollywood power couple." She laughs.

Oh God.

"They added our names together didn't they?" I facepalm myself.

"Bellward" she laughs.

"Great" I say.

She goes to various websites that have stories about me and Edward's relationship. Most of them are complete lies… except the one about the hotel's front desk having to ask us to 'quiet down'. The three of us had a good laugh at that one. I recognized most of them had something to say about how we went to school together. One had our high school yearbook pictures and current pictures with a caption, "They're Taken" on it. It's cute…in a false kind of way. Some have pictures of Edward with his shirt off looking all sweaty and sexy next to pics of me eating various foods. Plus, they found the one picture where I actually looked toasted in high school and put that in there.

How did they get that picture?

"Seriously?" I ask, pointing to the articles.

"These were obviously written by a woman." Alice deadpans.

"Yeah" Rose says, in her 'I'm fine' voice, before smiling and nodding her head. I close the laptop and turn to face Rose.

"What's wrong?" I ask her. "I know something is eating at you and don't say it's about anything you've already told me."

"It's just…" she leads, looking between me and Alice before shrugging. "I see how you two are with Edward and Jasper and it makes me think about how far I am with Emmett."

"How so?"

"I mean you two are involved in this huge, whirlwind romance and I feel like we're just… you know?" she says, slouching in her chair.

"Rose" I say, pulling her into my lap. "You can't judge you and Emmett off of what we do."

"Yeah" Alice says, sitting next to me on the couch. "Look at me. I do everything fast. I talk fast, walk fast, think fast" she rambles. "Plus, Jasper is real emotional. He listens to Sade'" she giggles. Me and Rose follow suit.

"Damn" I say, shaking my head.

I'm gonna nail him with that as soon as I get the chance.

"Then, Edward and Bella are alternative entirely." Alice adds. "Who can say they met up with their high school crush and fell in love? Plus, Bella's a little crazy. No offense."

"None taken" I say.

"Emmett loves you" I say, rubbing her back. "He's probably just a little shy."

"It's just… I'm 32 years old." She whispers. "How much longer am I supposed to wait? I ne- I want this to work out. Me and Emmett. It's just hard not knowing."

I continue rubbing her back and listen to her talk. I don't see Rose this candid. We both feel the same way about being vulnerable.

This must really bother her.

"And I-I" she stutters before her phone rings, giving our heart to heart an intermission.

"I'm hungry" I say, heading into the kitchen. I grab a bag of Cheetos and sit back down. I notice Captain look at his doggy food with a yearning look. So, I put a healthy serving of food for him in his bowl.

A dog after my own heart.

"Hello?" she asks into her phone. "Uh…hey. I'm fine. Thank you. Yeah?" she snickers. "Uh, no!" she shouts in disgust

"What's funny?" I mouth at her.

"Bella, it's for you" she laughs handing my phone over.

Huh?

"Hello?" I say into the phone.

"Bells, does Rose have a boyfriend?" Daniel asks.

"Oh, you're the reason for her sudden disgust." I figure. "Yes, she has a boyfriend who may actually stand a shot at killing you."

"Ehhh" he says. "She'll come around. I'd fly to California for a shot at that."

"Pig" I laugh.

"Well, well, well" my mom says into the phone.

"So you are alive" Daniel says into the phone.

"Hi guys" I say, causing Alice and Rose to unite in laughter. I go upstairs to my room and shut the door.

"Don't 'hi guys' me" she scolds, using her mom voice.

"Look who decided to answer their fucking phone." Gran deadpans, her accent menacing.

"Wait" David interrupts. "She answered her friend's phone."

"Stop instigating, David" I say.

"Don't fight it" Dad exhales. "Just take it."

"Look, guys. I'm sor-"

"Don't you say you're sorry." Mom shouts.

"I didn't mea-"

"Do you understand how…heartbreaking it was to have to find out who you were dating from my neighbor?"

"It's no-"

"The neighbor! The neighbor, Bella."

"I was coming back from court and heard the secretaries talking about what a lucky bitch you are." Daniel laughs.

"It's awkward to say the least." David laughs.

"Say what you want" Gran adds. "I'm gonna put this shit on my fuhking t shirt"

"I just can't believe that you actually waited this long to say something." Mom says.

"Sorry." I edge in. "I was-"

"You're mother has been unbearable since she found out." Dad says.

"You know it's true."

"Whatever. How could you wait so long to tel-"

"I'm trying to tell you." I interrupt, rolling my eyes. "First, we just wanted it to be us, without everyone knowing. Face it, guys. No one in our family can keep a secret. Then, when I actually wanted to tell you, we had some…issues" I add with a whisper, thinking about that horrible week. "So, I didn't want to tell you in case we broke up. But, we're fine now. I was going to tell you. Honest." I ramble. "I'm sorry!" I add.

"Oh. Well, you should have said something, then" my mom adds. "Shut up. Da girl is in love." Gran says.

"I tried" I tell her.

"How is everything?" Dad asks, no doubt trying to change the subject.

"Good. Great even" I say, feeling my mouth turn up into a smile. "I love him, guys. I really do." I miss Edward. Talking about him makes it worse.

Wait a minute

"How'd you get Rose's number?" I ask, curiously. "She isn't even listed."

"That's not the point." Mom says.

"Do you know who our dad is?" Daniel asks. "I bet he knows what I had for breakfast."

"Egg McMuffin with a hashbrown." Dad laughs as Daniel gasps.

"Incredible" David whispers in awe.

"What can I say?" Dad says. "I know my shit. Besides, you'll be surprised how easy it was."

"Great. You trampled over Rose's civil liberties to bitch at me about my relationship." I deadpan.

"We love you just that much." Mom says.

"It's touching. It really is." I whimper, wiping a fake tear like they can see me.

"We're glad that you appreciate it." Daniel says.

"Now that we have everything cleared up" David starts. "So…how big is it?"

"What!" I ask, shocked.

"David!" I hear my mom and grandmother shout in shock.

"We agreed we'd ask her that after Daniel and your father got off of the phone!" Mom shouts.

"Ewww" Daniel screams.

"Wow." Dad deadpans. "You really asked that?" he asks in disbelief. "Say what you wahn" Gran starts. "I wanna know. Stop stalling!" "Ewww" Dad says, as I hear a phone drop.

"Ahh sweetie" Mom says. "Come on."

"No thanks" I hear my dad in the background, probably making an escape. "I can't believe we're having this convers- actually I can." I say.

"So… spill lil' sis" David urges.

"This isn't natural" Daniel says, gagging. "Talk to you guys later." I hear shortly before he hangs up.

And I'm alone

"Go on, Bella" mom insists. "Tell us. We won't tell anyone. We're family."

"Guys, I don't feel right talking about this."

"Oh God" David whispers. "He has a little dick" he whimpers.

"Oh no" I laugh. "That's definitely not it. I just…don't wanna talk about it."

"He can't use it!" David gasps. "No" he whispers.

"That's not it." I say, for the 3rd time. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"I knew he wasn't small" Mom says. "I have big dick radar."

"What?" I laugh.

"You heard me. I can spot a man who's packing a mile away. That's what drew me to your daddy. I could tell."

"Stop!" I shout, throwing my face in my hands.

"I mean… I was drunk and disorderly, or so he says, at the time. But…I knew." Gran starts laughing.

"He gets it from your grandfather. That man had a third leg."

"Oh God" I grumble. "Please stop."

"It must be hereditary" David gushes. "Thanks grandpa."

"Men with big dicks have a certain something. They walk a little taller, smile a little wider…like they have a big secret." She whispers. "When we lived in Forks, I was shopping in Thriftway or Safeway…SomethingWay. Anyway, I saw him in the aisle reaching for a can that his mother couldn't reach. As he walked away, I thought, 'he's packing.'"

"Mom" I grumble. "He was a teenager… a child."

"So?" she rebuts.

"I don't care" Daniel interrupts. "I just know that I can untie my noose and tear up my suicide letter. I wouldn't want to live in a world where Edward Cullen couldn't fuck."

"Your life is safe" I say, instantly regretting it as I hear a chorus of cheers.

"I'm so happy for you, sis" David says.

"Good job" Gran says.

"Wow. My grandchildren are going to be so cute." Mom gushes.

"It's a little early to start naming your grandkids." I say.

"Whatever" she says. I imagine her waving my statement off. "You're bringing him for Christmas right?"

"Come on" Gran encourages.

"We won't embarrass you…too much." David giggles.

"We'd usher him into the fold. I'm gonna show him your pageant talent tape."

"Noooooo!" I shout.

"Yes" he says, simply.

"Whatever" I say, slyly.

Good luck finding it. I burned it when I came home for Christmas two years ago.

"So…" Mom says.

"I could ask him." I say. I don't know what kind of holiday schedule Edward has. He may want to spend it with his family.

"Great!" Mom shouts. "What am I going to cook? There's so many options."

"You have a month and a half to plan. You'll figure something out." I say.

"I'm excited." David gushes.

"At least he'll be entertained" Gran giggles.

"That's for sure" I say.

"Well, I'm satisfied with this conversation." Mom notifies me. "I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. Bye guys." "Bye"

"I love you" "Love you too."

"Don't be a stranger" Gran says, as she hangs up the phone, followed by Mom and David.

Oh God. Edward has to meet my family…formally.

I lay my head on my bed, trying to erase the last part of the conversation out of my mind. After I can function, I travel back downstairs to finish the conversation I was having with Alice and Rose. I check the clock to see that I was on the phone for 45 minutes.

"Sorry I was gone for so long" I say, making my way back to the couch, after grabbing my forgotten bag of Cheetos.

Mmmm… I forgot how much I like these.

I turn my attention to my snack, in a desperate act to cure my hungry stomach. As a result, I'm too wrapped up to notice that the room has been dead silent since I came back downstairs. Plus, Rose and Alice are in a staring contest.

"Is something wrong?" I ask after I finish off my jumbo bag, licking the Cheeto zest off of my fingers.

"Oh…nothing." Rose says, staring Alice in the eye.

"Yeah" Alice says, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

Bullshit

"Bullshit" I call. "Something happened while I was upstairs." "No, it didn't" Rose says. Alice stays silent.

"Rose" I say, looking at her. Her face is emotionless. She's used to the face.

Get Alice. She won't expect it.

"Alice" I say in my best 'Charlie' voice. When he used that, it was almost impossible to lie. She still is refusing to look in my direction. "Look at me" I tell her.

Alice shakes her head "no". "Rose told me not to look at you."

Damn. Rose told her.

"Fine" I say, sitting back on the couch and turning on the t.v. Eventually, things fall back into the original groove somewhat. "Alice" I say, nonchalantly as I bring her a bottle of water.

"Yeah?" she asks.

Cue the stare

"Rose is getting an abortion!" she screams and covers her mouth.

"What?" I ask, turning to Rose.

"Alice!" Rose screams as she throws a pillow at Alice.

"I'm sorry" Alice says in defense. "That stare is scary. I can't believe it worked."

"Rose" I say. That's all that comes out. I don't know what else to say.

"I've decided it" Rose says, with a straight face. "You know I don't want kids. I'm not cut out for it. Besides, my relationship with Emmett isn't stable enough."

"Rose, does Emmett know?" I ask.

"No. He doesn't need to know."

"He has a right to know. That's not fair." I say carefully. I don't want her to get defensive.

"That's what I said" Alice adds.

"What kind of mom would I be anyway?" she whispers. "Besides, me and Emmett have only been together 9 weeks. I've been pregnant six of them. I don't want him to feel trapped, in case things don't work out between us."

"Rose" I start.

"It's just…I don't know where we're going"

"That's the point." Alice says. "You don't plan love. You and Emmett set your own pace. You can't judge him based on Edward and Jasper."

"You need to tell Emmett." I say.

"What if he runs away?" she asks.

"Listen. I'm not telling you what to do with your body. At the end of the day, it's your decision. I just think you two should touch base that's all." Alice agrees with me.

" I don't think I'd be able to handle it if he left us." She whimpers as her chin starts to tremble. "Not so much me but…" she leads off, holding her stomach.

"I know" I say, looking into her eyes.

"It's just… I saw the aftermath of you and…"

"Sweetie, I know" I say, holding her gaze, engaging her in a silent conversation, my eyes watering along with hers.

"What's going on with you two?" Alice asks, sensing our sidebar moment.

"I'll tell you later." I say. "Now isn't the time."

"I'm just… scared" she says, finally breaking down into tears. "All my life, I've always had a plan. This is the first time in my life that I have no clue what to do."

"Sometimes, life comes at you full force. This is one of those times." I say, rubbing her back. "It'll be okay. You'll see"

"Promise us that you'll talk to Emmett" Alice says, joining in on our hug.

"Okay" Rose gives in, nodding her head against my shoulder.

We just sit there in my living room in silence hugging each other. Normally, we're lounging around joking and making fun of each other. We rarely have adult moments. It's…different.

"Alright" Rose says, getting up from the couch and heading to the bathroom. "I've got a meeting with Shia LaBeouf in an hour. I need to get my shit together."

"Are you sure…"

"Yeah. I'm fine now. The world doesn't stop spinning because I have problems."

"I'm sure that he'd…"

"I'm okay" she laughs. "God, I have one mushy moment and look what happens."

After she gets done making her presentable, Rose exits the house leaving me and Alice.

"That was an interesting turn of events" I say, looking through my refrigerator.

"You can say that again." She says, stretching. "You're still hungry?"

"Have we met?" I laugh.

"Is there anything I need to do?"

"You have a phone conference in an hour and a half. Have you finished learning the songs for DG yet?"

"Yeah." I say, grabbing a donut and quickly spitting it out.

I need to go grocery shopping…badly.

"That's it," she shrugs. "You're gonna have to hit it hard the rest of the way though. Play time is over."

"I know" I say, wiping a ghost tear from my face.

"You're such a smartass." She says, pinching my shoulder.

"Ouch! I'm sensitive!"

"No you're not" she laughs.

My conference call went really well. The director is really funny. We bounced ideas off of each other. The thing I like about this movie is that it's not the obvious funny. It would be cliché' to have the music be the funny part. But, it isn't. The music is actually. The interaction between the band mates is hilarious, and Jehnna Styx of course. I feel that I've rebounded from my zombie phase I demonstrated during our first meeting in the dark period with Edward. I sense this is gonna be a lot of fun.

Afterwards, I practiced the songs that I have to include on the DG soundtrack. It's a good thing that I already had vocal lessons from Time. It made it a lot easier. Plus, if I stink it up, they're gonna have a coach there anyway. That and autotune. I'm set.

I check the clock and see that it's 11:00 at night. I quickly take a shower to get in bed. I have to be up at 5 tomorrow.

It's passed my bedtime

I put on a tank top and some boyshorts and climb under my cover, willing sleep to overtake me. No matter how hard I try, I can't. Something is missing. Edward is missing. I toss and turn, cursing myself for not taking something of his. Maybe that would help me sleep better.

I'm sad…and tired

In the midst of my turmoil, I think I hear a creak coming from downstairs.

Huh?

I didn't get a call from anyone saying that they were coming over. I turn back over, trying to go back to sleep, convinced that I'm hearing something. That is, until I hear something break downstairs and I hear Captain starting to bark. What? Am I getting robbed?

Oh Hell no!

Nobody is gonna come in my house trying to steal all this expensive shit that I paid for.

Don't let the sitcom fool you. I'll fuck you up.

I go over to my drawer and put on a pair of sweatpants. I briefly think about getting my gun from my closet. Then, I remember that I don't know where it is.

Damn it

I grab a baseball bet from my closet and stealthily make my way downstairs. I wonder why I even brought the baseball bat. I'm better at hand to hand combat anyway. As I creep down the steps, hoping that all the military training my dad taught me wasn't bullshit. He'd always told me that I was skilled. But, I'd never really used it…except to injure my brothers.

Come on, Dad. Don't fail me.

I finally reach downstairs to see nothing but a black of sneakers behind my refrigerator door. He's stealing food too.

My money and my food? Somebody is about to get hurt. And it's not gonna be me.

I look to my right and see Captain eating a piece of chicken that was thrown on the floor. Shameful.

I make it to the refrigerator and kick the door.

"Hey motherfu—" I stop, dropping my bat as I see Edward shocked face as he starts to choke.

"What the…" he coughs, trying to free his airway.

"Baby!" I yell, hugging him, until I remembered he was choking. I pat his back until he gets the rogue piece of chicken out of his throat.

"You're home early" I say, looking up at him. "I thought you were gonna be a couple of days." I say as I kiss him.

"I wanted to…surprise you." He says, catching his breath after we break apart. "I surprised you. I guess." I laugh. "Why didn't you call?"

"I thought you'd be asleep. It's past your bedtime."

"I couldn't sleep without you." I say, blushing.

"That makes two of us." He says, leaning down for a kiss. "I couldn't go to my house, so I came home."

He called my house home.

At that realization, I jump into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist as he places a gentle kiss on my lips. Our kiss soon turns passionate as I lick his lips, gaining entrance to his mouth as he leans me against the refrigerator door. He takes like Edward… and chicken.

Delicious

He growls as I begin to move my hips against his erection, prompting him to join the rhythm we've set. Next, my bare back meets cold sterling steel as I feel my shirt being lifted above my head, exposing my breasts.

"Would you call me a pervert is I said that seeing you with that bat ready to kill me turned me on?" he asked, before sucking my left nipple into his mouth, while kneading my other breast with his hand.

"I'd call you a mind reader" I moan out, as my head hits the door. I'm too caught up in lust to feel any pain. My fingers quickly unbutton the button on his shirt, revealing his perfect abs and sinfully delicious "V" and unbutton his jeans.

"Fuck!" he growls, as I run my fingers down his chest and my hand begins to stroke his hard cock.

"That's what I'm thinking" I whisper as I lick the outer shell of his ear before sucking it into my mouth.

"Well then" he says, sitting me down on the island in the kitchen. I remove his shirt from his shoulders and Edward makes short work of my sweats along with my panties.

"God" I shout as he thrusts a digit inside me, and starts to work me like a musician playing his favorite instrument.

"It's Edward" he says, adding another finger and thumbs my clit.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" I whimper as he works me faster, curling his fingers as if he's beckoning my orgasm.

"Come on, Bambi" he moans. "Come for me. I can feel it," he orders, moving his digits impossible faster, grazing my clit with his fingernail, sending me flying over the edge.

"Edward!" I scream, arching my back in the air, pressing my bare chest against his.

He threads his hand through my hair, crushing his lips to mine in a searing kiss. I feel my limp body being moved closer to the edge as I wrap my legs around Edward's waist.

"Fuck, Bella. Guide me inside you." he moans, as I stroke his firmness before place him at my entrance.

We stare into each other's eyes as he pushes inside of me, inch by inch, shooting an electric current throughout my body causing us both to gasp in pleasure until he's inside me to the hilt. Our eyes stay locked on each other's in a love induced haze as he sets his pace, working his hips deeper with each stroke.

"Damn" he hisses, increasing his pace. "You're so fucking tight…and…warm" he says, as his grip tightens on my hips as he hits my G spot with rapid succession.

"You feel so good" I whimper, as my hips moves against his. "I missed you so much."

"Missed…you..too" he says, licking up the valley between my breast before sucking on the pulse point in my neck, driving me crazy.

"Oh God!" I shout, as he rests of knees in the crook of his elbows, sending him deeper inside of me than I thought possible.

"It's Edward" he shouts, as he begins to circle his hips. "Fuck, Bella"

"Edward" I whimper, closing in on my peak with every second, finally reaching it as his finger grazes me clit.

"Be..Bell" he moans as he reaches his climax, filling me up.

He rests his head on my shoulder as I run my fingers through his damp hair.

"Damn" I say.

"You said it" he says, catching his breath. "You'll be the death of me."

"I missed you" I tell him, placing a kiss on his head. "I didn't know how much until

I saw you."

"I missed you as soon as you left." He says, placing a gently kiss on my lips. "I love you." He says.

"I love you too." I tell him with a smile. I laugh when I realize that he still has his pants around his ankles.

We sit there until Edward pulls out of me, making me feel the loss of contact. My legs feel like Jello when I try to walk causing Edward to laugh until I punch him.

"Your punches hurt" he laughs, rubbing his shoulder with one arm and smacking my ass with the other.

"No they don't"

"Yes" he says, picking me up. "They do"

After we clean ourselves up, we get under the covers and cuddle.

Awww. I'm a cuddler now.

"How did everything go?" I ask.

"Better than expected" he says, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "How were the paps?"

"Ruthless as usual" I say. "They gave us a name."

"Really?" he asks. "What is it?"

"Bellward"

"Wow" he laughs.

"Cheesy. I know."

"I like cheese" he says.

"Me too" I say, kissing his forearm. "They found our high school pictures" I say with disgust. "I looked baked."

"You were baked in high school" he laughs.

"Not all the time" I fire back.

"Mostly" he giggles. "It's okay. I like bad girls."

"I wasn't a bad girl. I just wasn't straight laced. Mr. Class President. Mr. Homecoming and Prom King." I laugh.

"Hey!" he shoots his head up. "You got nominated for Homecoming Queen."

"I didn't win."

"Because you got disqualified" he laughs. "By the way, why did you do that?"

This again.

"I didn't do that. I was framed."

"Sure you were"

"Seriously. I was framed. I maintain my innocence" I say, crossing my arms. "My own mother still thinks I did it. I could have gotten expelled."

"Maybe because…you did it." He laughs.

"It's o.k. You don't have to do the whole OJ thing with me."

"I didn't do it" I laugh. "Trust me. I would have thought of something more witty and creative." I say.

"You have a point" he says, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I do"

"I want you to meet my parents" he says, after a long silence.

Huh?

"Huh?" I ask, turning over to face him.

"I'd like for you to meet my parents" he says, awkwardly. "My parents want to meet the girl I've been obsessing over for the past 12 years."

"You obsessed over me?" I ask, touching my heart.

"That's such a…heavy word." He waves his hand. "But yes."

"When?" I ask.

Please say Christmas

"Thanksgiving" he says, putting a piece of stray hair behind my ear. Damn.

He wants me to meet his parents.

"Okay" I smile. "One condition, though." I add.

"What?"

"You come to Georgia and meet my family on Christmas" I say.

"Okay" he says, kissing my face.

"I strongly suggest that you increase your insurance before you go." I tell him.

"You're exaggerating."

"I'm not. That's the sad part." I deadpan.

"I get to meet the infamous GranAnne…and your…father…the Chief." He says, worriedly.

"Are you scared of my dad?" I ask, laughing.

"Uh…yeah" he says, like he can't believe I asked him.

"Why?"

"He's scary as Hell"

"People always say that. I guess it's the tattoos…and the gunshot and stab wounds."

"What?" he asks. "He has tattoos, gunshot and stab wounds?"

"He was a career military man." I told him. "It comes with the territory. Besides that, he's a real sweety."

"I'm not put as ease…at all." He says, with a straight face.

"I'll protect you." I say, as I start to kiss his neck.

"I thought that was my job" he says, as he turns me on my back, hovering over me.

"Somebody wants round two." I say, ghosting my hands up his abs, just as I hear my phone buzz.

Who is that?

I ignore the buzz, thinking it is a wrong number. No one who knows me would call this late. I finally looked when I hear the buzz for the 3rd time. It was a text.

**Alice: S.O.S . Rose needs us.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Funny story. Some of you know that I uploaded the epi to Emotional Warfare yesterday. At first, I uploaded it to this story by accident so I took it down. Sorry. To make up for getting your hopes up, I added chapter 19. Enjoy!**

**EPOV**

After the whole showdown at the meeting, the rest of shooting went smoothly. Well… as smoothly as you think something can go after what happened.

I ended up going home a day early. It turns out that the extra two days were for 'going over specifics'. Since, the arrangement was no longer in effect, I got to go home early.

Fuckers

Once shooting was over, I raced back to the hotel to get my shit together so I

could go home.

Go home to Bella.

It seems as though the entire world found out about me and Bella in like seven hours. The airport was a fucking zoo. I mean, it's always been a bit on the ridiculous side. But…damn. I could barely see in front of me. Eventually, airport security had to get me through the crowd.

How is your relationship with Bella Swan?

How long have you two been seeing each other?

Is it serious?

Is the bachelor Edward Cullen ready to settle down?

I need to get a bodyguard

But I don't wanna be 'that' guy.

"This shit is ridiculous" Emmet huffs, sitting down.

"Who are you telling?" I ask, after signing a girl's autorgraph.

"Sorry, dude" he says, "I should have booked a private jet."

"It's no big deal. I'm just happy that I get to go home. I miss Bella." I end sadly.

"She just left this morning. You act like you haven't seen her in a month." He teases, while trying to open a bag of pretzels. The bag rips. "Shit!"

"That's what you get. Asshole" I tease back, eating one of his pretzels. "I just miss her that's all. Were the paps this bad when she took off?"

"I asked Rose. The news of your 'whirlwind romance' broke shortly before she booked. So, it was a cakewalk compared to what you just survived."

"Oh"

"Yeah. Rose has been getting calls all day asking for a statement." He laughs. "She was all like, 'Do I look like a fucking publicist? That's not my damn job!" he adds, in a perfect impersonation of Rose.

"How are things with you two love birds?" I ask, after posing for a picture.

"I've been getting that question a lot, the past couple of days." He says. "They're good…really good. It's just…"

"What?"

"I think Rose is gonna dump me." he whispers, out of the blue.

"What? Why?" I ask.

"I called her and told her that we were coming home early. Then, she was like, 'we need to talk.' Nothing good ever comes out of that sentence." He says, sadly.

"You don't know that." I tell him, after I sign some baby's head and smile for a picture.

"I mean… she's beautiful, and smart, and serious, and stuff." He says, leaning his head against the seat in front of him. "She can do better."

"You're overreacting" I say, yawning and getting a pillow from the overly friendly flight stewardess. "It's probably nothing. Besides, if Rose wanted to dump you, she would have done it over the phone." I say.

"You're right." He says, opening up his computer to do something. "Go to sleep."

"Only because I'm tired" I yawn. "Not because you told me to."

I don't remember what happened after that.

It felt like as soon as I opened my eyes, the plane was landing.

I love plane rides like that

Fortunately, Jasper called airport security and they escorted me to my car. Then, I had to have a police escort to my house.

Crazy. Crazy, I tell you!

It was pretty late, so I decided to head over to my house.

Bella is probably sleep anyway.

I step inside my house and look around and set my things away. I change my clothes and sat in front of the t.v. At least, I tried to watch t.v. But for some reason, I felt like something was missing.

I walked around the house, taking it all in for the first time in a long time. I always knew my house was large. But, it was the first time that it felt…vast and empty.

I miss Bella.

At that moment, I didn't care if she was asleep. I missed her. I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't even notice me slipping into bed next to her. So, I made a bag and made my way over to her house.

I knew that now with our impending schedules and the media around all the fucking time, we'd have to take all the time we could get together. I had a month off until I had to start shooting another movie. Also, I wanted to ask Bella to be my date to the Second Chances premiere in 3 weeks.

Cheesy. I know.

I was a little hungry, so I checked the fridge to see what Bella had to eat. I was surprised to see…nothing but two chicken legs and a breast.

She needs to go grocery shopping.

As I reach in the fridge, I hear the unmistakable sound of a particular animal.

Cujo

"So, we meet again, eh?" I say to the beast, as I turn around slowly to see Captain staring at me.

I hate this fucking dog!

Watching my step, I begin to slowly walk backwards as I notice him walking toward me. At this point, it's like he's chasing me around the island in Bella's kitchen.

"I'm getting real tired of your shit!" I whisper at him. At that moment, he starts to bark and charges toward me. "Fuck" I whisper, and look for something to hide behind. He must have understood what I said.

Where is Bella?

Luckily, Bella stores her kitchen utensils in a grate above her stove. I grab a frying pan and spatula to use them like a makeshift sword and shield. So, now I have armor to protect myself for when Captain finally decides to bite me. Now, I'm walking briskly around the island in the kitchen while Captain bites at me.

Damn. I hope Bella doesn't see this. I'll never hear the end of it.

This continues for a good 20 seconds. Then, I have an idea. It's a long shot. As I go to pass the refrigerator door, I pull it open and grab the first piece of meat and toss it into Cujo's mouth just as he opens his jaws to take a chunk out of my ass. He gives me the 'fuck you' look before going in the corner and eating it.

Wow. I guess he is Bella's dog.

"Shit!" I mumble. He got the breast. That's my favorite piece.

Breast…Bella's breast…Mmmm

I attack the leg and start to eat, until Bella scared the shit out of me with a baseball bat. At first, I thought I'd shit myself.

At least it ended well.

Bella and I were lounging around in our bed…naked. Luckily, she agreed to meet my parents, in exchange for meeting her parents. I was happy to know that she wants to move forward as I do. However, I must admit that the realization that I'll have to meet Mr. Swan, aka the Chief, scares me to death. I've never formally met the man. But, I'm terrified of him. He always seemed as though he was ready to kill someone.

I know my parents will love Bella because I love her and she's well…Bella. They'll be pleased that I finally brought someone home to meet them. But, I have no clue if her parents will approve of me. I mean, I don't even know them. I want them to approve of me. I mean, I plan on marrying Bella in the near future. It would be nice to get the 'okay' from The Chief.

My thoughts, and some promising foreplay, were interrupted by a mysterious text message. The next thing I knew, Bella was flying around the house putting on clothes. She looked sad, hurt… and angry.

"Not again" I heard her mutter. I put on some boxers to follow her to her closet where she starts mumbling a string of expletives and mumbling stuff. Her hands are shaking as she puts on her shoes and grabs her car keys. I'm not even sure if she knows she's doing it.

"You're scaring me" I tell her as I follow her downstairs.

She turns around, smiles and touches the side of my face, sending that exciting shock through me. "Oh… you shouldn't be scared. Not for me anyway." She says through a somewhat sinister laugh.

So… who should I be scared for?

This leads to me standing inside the hallway in Bella's house completely and utterly confused.

From what I heard, she said something about one of her friends. So, it must be Alice or Rose. A part of me wants to respect her wishes and leave it alone. Another part wants to help. I'd never seen her this upset, apart from the whole Lauren fiasco that we just got over. I hate seeing her this way.

So, I put my clothes on and call Emmett. No answer.

"Shit!" I whisper, as I leave him a text.

As I put my shirt back on, I hear a scratch at the door. Great. I remember Bella telling me that Captain does that when he needs to pee. So, I grab the leash off of Bella's nightstand and open the door.

"Okay, let's get this…" I start as he walks past me like I'm not even there. He looks around the bedroom, no doubt looking for Bella. After a few seconds, he must have realized that Bella wasn't here. "Are you ready to cooperate now?" I ask, shaking the leash at him.

He huffs and slowly walks to my side. He moves his head when I try to put the leash on him.

Fuck it!

I walk to the back door and he follows me outside. While he does his business, I call Jasper.

"WTFuck?" Jasper says calmly as he answers the phone.

"No clue, man" I reply. "Do you have the slightest clue what in the Hell is going on?"

"Not really. She kept saying, 'It's bad. It's bad.'"

This isn't good

"Shit" I say, replying to Jasper as well as the vicious fart Captain let out in my direction.

Probably purposefully

"I know. I haven't had a moment's peace all day. First, I kept getting a call every 30 seconds asking for a comment on Bellward's relationship." He laughs. "Nice

name by the way. Then, before I could catch a decent REM cycle, this shit happens." He pauses. "Now, I can't get back to sleep and I'm bored."

"Me too. Plus, Bella has to record all day."

"Awww." He teases. "You miss her" he adds, making kissy sounds. "Shut up. So?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

"Come over" he orders. "We'll be bored together. Plus, there is some stuff we need to discuss anyways."

"Okay" I say, before I thought the whole thing through. "Is it okay if I bring Bella's dog? There's no food and she doesn't leave him by himself."

"Sure"

After we hang up, Captain and I head for the driveway before I realize the damage he can cause in my car.

"No way" I say, running back into the house to find two pairs of gloves and 6 bath towels. I put the gloves on his paws and line the back seat of my car in towels. I tryto usher him into the backseat and he looks at the gloves on his paws and gives me a look that says, 'Really?' before barking in my face and getting into the car.

I'm pretty sure he just called me an asshole.

Jasper's house is only like 15 minutes away from Bella's house, so it didn't take long to get there.

"Please, don't embarrass me" I ask Cujo, ringing the doorbell.

"It's open" he yells.

"Hey bro" I say, making my way to the bathroom. I had to pee.

"What's up?" he asks, before Captain jumps on him. "What the Hell?"

"He's checking you for drugs."

"What?" I hear him yell as I close the door to the bathroom.

"Bella's dog is weird" he says, after I come out.

"But, he's cool." He adds, as he pats the dog's head.

At that moment, I pass by Jasper's chair and Captain bites at my ankle. "See what I'm talking about?" I ask.

I've told Jasper and Emmett about Captain's secret attempts to kill me. They think I'm overreacting.

"Drama queen" he says. "He's a cool dog, man. It's in your head."

"Sure it is" I roll my eyes and turn on the t.v.

"Oh" Jasper laughs, running over to his computer. "Look at this shit!" he says, pointing to the several articles that appeared literally overnight about me and Bella. "I googled Bellward. It pulled up 200,000 sites…in less than a day."

Curiosity got the better of me and I looked at an article

_It's over ladies and gentlemen *wipes eyes with handkerchief* Two of the most sought after celebrities are dating…each other! That's right, heartthrob Edward Cullen and sexy funny woman Isa'Bella' Swan were seen having some one on one time in New York where Cullen was reportedly filming reshoots for his upcoming drama Second Chances._

_After photos of the pair surfaced, it led to the question, "How long has this been going on?" It's no secret that the pair attended the same Forks High, in Forks, Washington when they were young. However, it stands to show that the two hadn't spoken until fairly recently._

_Here's my guess…_

_The sexy duo was first grouped together during a taping of Jay Leno in late August, shortly before the hit movies Time and Dead Before Dawn hit the theaters. Later, Cullen surprised America with his cameo on Swan's show, the recently-ended __Halfsies, as Swan's long-time mysterious boyfriend... the infamous Big Daddy._

_A hint maybe?_

_If this gossip queen had to guess, I'd say these two have been doin' the nasty for a good 2 months. But… don't quote me on that._

_But…who cares? Hollywood needs a new hot couple. And these two are scorching_

_. Did you see those pictures? Hello? Move over Brangelina and Robsten. I think we have a new super couple._

The article has a picture of when I rescued Bella from the paps. In this one, we're making out and my hand is grabbing her ass and she's smiling. I don't remember doing that. There is also one of me with my shirt off jogging in the park next to one of Bella on set of one of her movies eating a hamburger. It wasn't very flattering, to be honest.

I love her.

"It feels good that people know we're together. I mean, the paps are annoying. But, now people know." I say, running my finger over the pictures of us. "I love seeing her smile." I whisper.

As soon as I said that, I remember how she looked earlier. Something was bothering her. And it was bad.

"She was really upset this morning, Jasper."

"Alice was too."

"Bella gave me nothing. Did Alice tell you anything?" I ask, desperate for some kind of information.

"All I know is that Alice had a vision and woke up cursing Emmett to Hell. Then, she got a phone call. Then, she got in the car with Bella, where they drove like they were trying to get back to 1985."

"So…nothing?" I say.

"Pretty much"

"Well, Alice cursed Emmett." I mumbled. "I think I heard Bella mumble something about murder." I add

Then, it hit us

"Where's Emm…"

The sounds of hurried banging on Jasper's door interrupts our moment of clarity. Jasper heads to the door while I get my phone to call Jasper.

"Wo-oah!" I hear Jasper from the hallway as he follows a hysterical Emmett into the t.v. room.

For a good two minutes, Emmet is speaking so fast, I can't even begin to understand what he's trying to say.

"Emmett" I say, grabbing his shoulders. "Calm down"

"B-But I…" he stammers, before Jaspers smacks him. Hard

"Shut up" he orders. "You needed it."

We wait until his breathing evens out before we talk to him. "Emmett" I pause. "What happened?"

"Rose is…pregnant." He says, before putting his head in his hands.

"And you're not happy about it?" Jasper asks, sitting in the chair next to him.

"No… I mean yes" he stammers. "Of course, I'm happy about it" he says, rolling

his eyes. "I'm just…scared shitless." He mumbles, picking at invisible lint on his jeans. "You guys know that I didn't have the best childhood or father figure."

He's right about that part. Having an alcoholic and abusive father and living in a trailer park is a recipe for a fucked up childhood. That's why I admire Emmett. Anyone with a past like that kind of has a right to be an asshole. But, he's risen above it to become quite successful. He's a self made man.

I think Emmett will be a great dad. I mean, he's practically a kid himself anyways.

"I imagine everyone is scared." I tell him. "You're in uncharted territory. Both ofyou are. What did Rose say?"

He sadly shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know" he mumbles. "What do you mean you 'don't know?'" I ask.

He didn't…

He goes and tells us the story of how he came to be here. For the first time in a really long time, I'm dumbfounded.

Shit

"So…" Jasper starts. "Rose invites you over. You tell each other 'I love you.' You start to have sex. She tells you she's pregnant. And you…left?"

He nods his head.

"Shit!" Jasper grumbles, shaking his head. "I can't believe you did that."

"You're a fucking…"

"Idiot!" Jasper completes my sentence with me.

This is bad. This is really bad.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" Jasper asks.

I understand for any man to be scared after finding out he's going to be a father. But, that doesn't excuse running away.

"You didn't think about what that would do to her?" I ask. "You just left?"

"You didn't say anything?"

"No!" he shouts, standing up. "I couldn't say anything." He says, his hands starting to shake. " She's so beautiful. When she told me, all I could think about was a little girl with Rose's hair and Rose's eyes…and my last name." he smiles. "Then, I thought about my dad. What if I'm like him?" he asks. " I'm scared that I'll fuck everything up." He whispers. "In some twisted way, I'm grateful for my shitty upbringing. It made me who I am. But, I wouldn't want my kids to have that." he adds.

"Did you tell Rose that?" Jasper asked. Emmett shakes his head.

"I know that I should have. I needed time to think. But, I just bolted." He shakes his head. "She probably hates me, now."

"She loves you." I tell him. "She probably hates you right now." I add. "But she loves you."

"What if she loses the baby, because the stress?"

"No, she won't" Jasper says, calmly. "Talk to her. Be prepared to grovel…badly. But, talk to her."

"Ok" he says, getting up.

"Not now, though." I say, pushing him back onto the couch.

If Bella is still at Rose's house, I'm scared of what she'd do to him.

"How am I going to face her?" he asks, his eyes beginning to water. "I love her so much. And I love our baby. I just didn't…"

"WHERE IS HE?" I hear Bella yell, barging through the door and starts to look for Emmett. "I know he's here." She says.

Shit!

"Shit!" Emmett whimpers, looking for a place to hide.

As Bella heads to the back, Jasper gets out of his chair to calm Bella down. Jasper has this way of diffusing even the tensest of situations. If anyone can cool Bambi off, it's now.

As Jasper gets up, Emmett comes into Bella line of vision.

"YOU!" Bella growls, walking toward Emmett.

"Bella" Jasper tries to block Bella, holding his hands up. Everything happened so Jasper moved toward Bella to catch her, she quickly moved to the right and ran directly to Emmett.

"Bella" I say, holding my hands up in surrender. "This isn't gon…"

"Don't overreac…" I hear Alice say from the doorway.

I'm interrupted by the sight of Emmett shielding his face…leaving his lower half open for attack.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she yells, throwing a punch square into Emmett's junk. She follows that up with a quick two piece combo to Emmett's ribs.

"Bell…"Emmet starts as he moves his hands to protect his side, as Bella's fists punch their way to his face, where she connects to his jaw with a mean right look and left jab to his nose. Bella's jab throws Emmett off balance, where Bella takes the opportunity to kick Emmett, 300 style, in the chest sending him flying to the ground. She kept hitting him.

Bella hit Emmett 12 times in a period of 4 seconds.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU?" she asks Emmett, making a move to straddle him on the ground, to inflict more pain.

At this moment, the realization that Bella could kill Emmett shocks me out of my stupor as Bella, small Bella, sweet Bella, clumsy Bella, starts to punch Emmett again for god measure and puts him in a headlock and proceeds to choke him.

"Bel…Bel… I'm sor.." Emmett chokes, as Jasper I run over to intervene.

"Calm down, darlin" Jasper says, trying to pry her arms from around Emmett's neck.

"Bella. Sweetie, stop" I whisper into her ear, as I grab her waist. "This isn't helping anything." I add, as she squeezes harder. "Bambi, please" I beg, hugging her from behind. "Please, Bambi" I ask again.

Her arms relax and Emmett falls back to the ground gasping for air. I hug her tighter, unsure of what she'll do next. I feel her body shaking with emotion as I kiss her cheek and feel something wet. I turn her around to face me and find those big beautiful brown eyes glossy and tears streaming down her face. I tilt her chin up, to look in her eyes. As we stare at each other, she erupts into sobs, throwing her arms around me.

"Shhh…" I say, picking her up to take her outside.

"I-I-I" she stutters through her tears, as I sit down by Jasper's pool.

"Don't talk" I tell her, putting a stray piece of hair around her ear. "It's okay" I say, rocking her and placing hiss all over her face.

"B-But"

"Shhh…" I interrupt. "Don't cry." I beg. "Please don't cry. I hate seeing you sad." I tell her, as she places her head on my shoulder.

She was inconsolable. She looked so hurt. Hearing her cry with sobs shaking her entire body left me feeling entirely useless. I hated that she was in so much pain and I couldn't do anything about it. I wrap my arms around her as tight as I can, letting her know that I was there. She places her small arms around my neck and stares into my eyes with her big teary orbs and looks at me. She hugs me like she's afraid I'll fade away. I hold onto her tighter. As I see her bottom lip begin to quiver, I gently kiss it and run my fingers through her hair.

"Shh…" I say, kissing her as she opens her mouth to say something.

"I love you." She nods her head.

We sit outside on a chair, and I sit and let Bella cry on my shoulder. Rose is Bella's best friend. I can imagine something like this upsetting her. But, I'd be lying if I said that I was expecting this.

"How could he do that to Rose?" she asks, softly.

"How could he just…leave?"

"He was scared" I say, kissing her eyes.

"That doesn't excuse it" she says. "Did he think she wasn't scared?" she asks. "She'd been agonizing over this for the past week. Did you know that she was going to get an abortion? Me and Alice had to beg her to reconsider. Edward, we begged her to tell Emmett because we had faith that he'd do the right thing." She whimpers. "And he just…left."

I shake my head at this new information. Emmett shouldn't have left. I agree with that. But, knowing the back story of the whole thing adds an entire new level of shit to this equation.

I hope he can fix it

"I just feel so…betrayed." She says.

"I know" I say into her ear. "I know you consider Emmett to be one of your friends…"

"It's bigger than that Edward." She interrupts. "I just feel so bad for Rose." She shakes her head, tears welling up again. "I know how that feels. It hurts when someone you think loves you betrays and deserts you, Edward. It hurts worse than you can imagine."

There it is again. Ever since we got together, Bella would have these small instances when she'd hint to some past heartbreak. But, before the conversation really got anywhere, she'd change the subject. Plus, Rose mentioned some guy named Riley that morning after I slept over.

What is it that she's not telling me? Could it be the reason why she went postal on Emmett? On one hand, I wanted to know about what got her so unglued at these random moments. On the other hand, she was upset and I didn't want to make it worse.

We sit in silence, as I rock her back and forth, while I try to figure out my next move. I guess you can call it morbid curiosity. But, I decided to ask her and hope she didn't snap at me.

"Baby?" I ask, seeing to see if she was okay.

"Uh huh?" she says, wiping some tears on my shirt.

"What did you mean by you 'know how it feels?" I ask. "Is that why you attacked Emmett?"

"I attacked Emmett because he's an asshole." She gripes from my shoulder. "But, I guess the anger could…was…fueled by something deeper. I guess." She says, softly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No" she says, with her lip starting to tremble again. "But, I should. You should know." She nods her head, as if she's convincing herself. I take her face in my hands, looking into her eyes.

"It's okay." I tell her. "You can tell me."

"I'm scared." She whimpers, as more tears soak her face. "I'm scared that you won't think of me the same way."

"I love you." I tell her with all the emotion I have. "Nothing can change that." "Promise?" she asks, looking me in the eye.

"Promise" I say, kissing her lightly on the mouth. "You're my Bambi. Remember?" I say.

She sits up, nodding her head and wiping stray tears from her face. It's like she's gathering the courage to tell me.

"After I graduated high school, I moved back …to Georgia… to go to college. Daniel was at Emory University and David was at Georgia Tech. I could have gotten into either of those schools. But, I wanted to be my own person. So, I applied to UGA and got accepted. Plus, my brothers get on my nerves sometimes." She adds, with a depressed chuckle. "But, I missed my family and what little friends I had. I mean, Forks was okay. But, it wasn't home."

I nod my head in understanding.

"So, August rolls around and next thing I know, I'm in this different environment with virtually no one to help me. My brothers were a good two hours away, and my parents couldn't move back until January of the next year. I felt alone. But I was determined to make the best of it. I wasn't the twins' sister, or The Chief's daughter. I was just Bella. I kinda liked it."

" A couple of weeks pass by and school is going okay. I remember going to the library, well falling asleep in the library, and that's when I met him."

"Who?" I ask.

"Riley. Riley Briers" She answers. "He was a junior. He was the stereotypical all American: blonde hair, blue eyes, nice smile, frat boy. He was nice…at first."

I notice her eyes starting to well up again. "It's okay, baby. What happened?"

"He approached me one day. He was smart, attractive, and sweet. Most girls would call him a catch. He told me that he'd seen me around campus…been watching me and that he'd wanted to go on a date. At first I was apprehensive. I never really felt pretty. I never thought I was ugly. But, why would he like me? I'd never even kissed a boy, let alone go on a date."

When she told me that, I felt a twinge of guilt. How could she ever see herself as anything less than gorgeous is beyond me? Maybe if I made more of an effort, she wouldn't have felt that way. I nod my head, signaling for her to go on.

"So, I said yes. I was surprised at how much I liked him. He opened the door for me, gave me his jacket when I got cold, laughed at my jokes…that kind of stuff. He was sweet to me. He was my first date, first kiss, first boyfriend, my first…everything." She whispers.

"We'd been dating around 3 months and he'd started pressuring me about sex. I wasn't against it, but I wasn't sure about it either. I never believed in having sex without love. After a couple weeks of thinking about it, I decided that I was ready. I mean, I thought about him all the time. I wanted to be with him all the time. That had to be love right?" she asks, shrugging her shoulders.

"And during the whole time, I kept thinking, 'Should I be doing this? Do I really love him?' I remember wanting to stop…"

At that moment, a growl escaped my mouth and my knuckles gripped the chair so hard, I'm surprised they didn't leave an imprint.

"Bella," I ask softly…menacingly. "Did he force…"

"No!" she says, shaking her head. "I wanted to stop. But, I figured that it was just nerves. You know, because it was my first time. I expected this spark…this magic. But, it wasn't there. And when it was over, I felt cheated. Stupid me, I thought it would get better as time went on."

I found myself upset again. Bella's first time should have been special with someone she was certain about.

"A couple weeks after that, Riley became distant. He didn't call. He didn't come by to see me. I never saw him. Me, being the naïve child I was, came by his frat house to see him…I caught him fucking my roommate Bree." She pauses. "It was awkward to say the least."

"I remember yelling and screaming at him, asking him 'Why?' I didn't understand. I was used to being ignored. But I wasn't used to that kind of rejection. I thought he loved me. He told me he loved me." she repeats, bitterly. "Then, I found out why" she rolls her eyes.

She silences for a while, looking into the pool and waiting for her breathing to even out.

"I was a challenge… a formal challenge" she says, silent tears falling now. "What's that?" I ask

"In his fraternity, every semester some guys get assigned a challenge by a big brother. The challenge is a girl. The guy who accepts has to sleep with his challenge before the end of the semester." She finishes. "Whoever gets the most before graduate gets into the Hall of Fame."

"I felt so stupid." She cries. "All the things he did, everything he said, was to serve that purpose. He never cared. It felt like someone punched a hole in my stomach. Then, he starting openly seeing my roommate and that made it worse. It was horrible." She adds.

"A month passed and I started to get sick. At first, I thought it was a stomach flu that was going around. But after the second week, I was starting to think I was pregnant. I got a couple of tests from the drug stored and they all came out positive. I was so scared. I was only 19. I didn't know anything about raising a kid. I was practically a kid myself. I had absolutely no idea what to do or who to turn to. I was scared to tell my family because I knew they'd be disappointed. So, I told Riley."

"I wasn't stupid enough to think that telling him that would make him want to be with me. I just thought that he should know. Maybe we could figure it out together. When I told him, he told me to 'get rid of it' before slamming the door in my face. I felt disgusted with myself. How could I have been so easily fooled? How could I have trusted him? Now, I was heartbroken, pregnant and alone."

" I made appointments at the doctor. Besides that, I didn't tell anyone. I was too ashamed. My family knew something was wrong. They kept asking me, but I just couldn't say it. I felt like such a failure. My parents always told me what a bright future I had. I didn't want them to think less of me. What would my dad think? That's what I thought about the most. He tried the hardest. But, he's not a particularly feeling person so it was kind of easy to throw him off the scent with sarcasm." She shook her head.

"During the whole thing, I stopped feeling sorry for myself. Everything happens for a reason. I felt like God did this with some purpose for me. At that moment, it didn't matter. None of the stuff that happened before mattered. I'd be his mom and dad. I got it in my head that the baby would be a boy. Single moms did it every day. I was ready. But I was still scared shitless." She ends nodding her head.

"Spring break came along and I had a week off of school. Mom and Dad had just moved back a couple of weeks ago. So, I figured now was as good a time as any and I'd tell them when the time was right. I was three months along and was starting to show a little bit. I already wore big clothes and ate a lot so no one suspected anything. I waited most of the week to gather the courage to say anything. I was going to tell. I needed them to know. I made it up in my mind that I'd tell them that Friday."

She takes another break, putting her head in her hands before raking her fingers through her hair. The tears start to pour down her face as she closes her eyes shut and begins to rock in my lap.

"That Friday morning, I noticed that my stomach was hurting. It wasn't anything terrible. I just thought it may have been something I ate before. I just thought that I had to go to the bathroom" she sniffles. "So, I sit down…waiting… and this shooting pain rips through my stomach. I felt like I was being gutted. I looked down and saw a trail of blood running down my legs to the floor. I started to panic. I remember starting to call for help. Then…" she pauses for a second. "I felt it…and I heard it. And I knew he was gone. I l-l-lost h-h-im."

At the completion of that last sentence, she breaks into tears.

"It's not your fault." I say, as I rock her through her tears. "It was out of your control."

"I couldn't look. I screamed so loud…and started crying. My dad knocked the bathroom door off the hinges to get to me. I'll never forget the look on his face when he saw it. He looked so hurt. I'd never seen him like that."

"When the paramedics came they took us away for me to get checked. I didn't get to see him. I didn't get to hold him. In the state of Georgia, a miscarriage before 5 months doesn't warrant a birth or death certificate. So, there isn't really any evidence of it. It's like he never existed."

"I named him Cameron. I think it's a nice name."

"Of course, my grades went to shit and I lost my scholarship. I ended up working at this comedy club downtown. It was during closing time and the talent didn't show up and my boss made me come up with something in like 5 minutes. I just remember it being really bitter and morbid… and people laughed. I didn't understand how anyone found that remotely interesting. It turns out this agent out here was visiting his cousin or something and offered me a job. I accepted it, even though it meant that I had to drop out."

"Dad was pissed, of course. He felt that I was sabotaging my future. He didn't want me to go. It's the first real fight I ever got into with my parents. But, I did it anyway. Once I got here, I started working as a writer for Will & Grace. Then, they needed some people to help with the Halfsies pilot and I volunteered."

"Did you know I wasn't even supposed to be on the show?" she asks. "The girl that they cast got in a car wreck and broke her leg before taping. I knew the lines and somewhat fit the description so they gave me the spot. Natalie was only supposed to be in two episodes. But, I tested well and the rest is history."

"I think about it on occasion. But, it's so hard. I hate crying. It takes so much energy. I hate thinking about it." She whimpers. "Sometimes, when people congratulate me on how far I've come…or how I'm paving the way for women comedians, I get really sad. Because, deep down, I feel like all of this came at his expense."

She pauses for a second and her face goes from one of sadness to one of anger. "As time went on, the pain lessened a little. But it's still there…deep down. Every now and then, it bubbles to the surface."

"I've felt that pain of abandonment before. I wouldn't wish half of it on my worst enemy. So, I damn sure wouldn't wish it on my best friend. Rose didn't ask him to marry her. She asked him for support…his opinion. When she told me what happened, I flashed back to that time and became angry all over again. That's why I attacked Emmett. You don't run away from shit like that."

Silence

"There. You have it." She says, wiping more tears off her face and waving her hands to the sky. "My big, bad, dark secret. Bambi isn't so perfect now, is she?" she asks, turning to look me in the eye.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, baby." I say, kissing her crying eyes.

I'll kill him if I ever see him

I knew that I had to choose my words carefully.

"I sit here now…in awe of you." I say, much to her surprise. "Do you realize how strong you are, to be willing to take on such a responsibility so young…by yourself? You see a young stupid girl who got fooled. You were a girl in love with a boy, who if I ever meet with castrate. You see someone who disappointed their family. But, I see a woman who did what she felt needed to be done. You could have gotten an abortion. You didn't. You could have put it up for adoption. You wouldn't have. Bella, you're the most beautiful, most caring woman I've ever met. You would have made an excellent mother. And when God blesses us with children, you will be. It's not your fault." I say to her with all the love I posses. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Now that I had a chance to process everything she went through, I fell more in love with her.

"It still hurts" she whispers. "I never met him. But, I miss him."

"That's normal. He was your son. There will always be a part of you that misses him." I say, rubbing her shoulder.

We sit there in silence for God knows how long, until my cough interrupts our moment.

"Eww" she says, getting up. "I'm gonna head inside now. It's getting a little hot for this sweatshirt. Plus, I ran out of places to cry and snot over on this shirt." She laughs, awkwardly.

"I'll come with you." I say, walking with you.

Knowing this about her left me feeling closer with her than I had ever dreamt of being. The fact that she trusted me enough with a secret no many know spoke volumes to me.

Wait a minute

"Bella," I say wrapping my arms around her to pin her arms. "Are you still mad at Emmett?"

"Yep" she say, popping the 'p'. "But, I beat him enough for one day." She says, with a straight face, heading inside.

"Are you okay?" Alice asks Bella, running to engulf her in a hug.

"Yeah" she replies, letting out a huge gust of breath. "It felt a little refreshing letting everything out. I told that story twice in one day. That's a record." She finishes.

"Emmett's gone" Jasper says, coming downstairs. "He went to go beg Rose for forgiveness."

"Good. He better." Bella says.

"With something shiny." Alice adds.

"Yeah. He left right after I bandaged his arm."

"Oh my God" Bella gasps. "Did I break something?"

"Alice bit him" he laughs, as Alice smiles showing her teeth.

"What? I couldn't get a shot in with Bella Ali over here." She mumbles, pointing at Bella.

"You might have broken his nose though." Jasper adds. "I think I heard something pop during when you were beating his ass."

"I guess I…overacted…a little." Bella says. "What time is it?"

"6:30" I say, looking at my cell phone.

"Shit" Bella hisses. "Alice, can you call Dennis and tell him that I may run a little late to the studio?" she asks.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" I ask. "You've had a pretty rough morning."

After thinking, she says, "I think I should go. I don't want to dwell on it all day.

Plus, I just rebounded from the shitty first impression I made with him. I don't wanna bail on the first day recording too."

"What time do you think you'll be there?" Alice asks.

"8 or 9. I should be out of the ER by then." She says, walking to the door.

"ER? Why are you going to the ER?"

"I'm pretty sure I sprained a knuckle when I punched Emmett's jaw." She say, putting up her hand. "That fucker is made out of concrete, I swear" she says, going to the door.

"I don't think you should go in today." I tell her, walking her to her car. "You aren't okay. At all."

"You're right." She says. "I'm not fine, now. But, I will be. We will be"

"You sure?" I ask her. Even though I think she's better off at home with me, I'll respect her wishes. "I'll come get you if it gets too much."

She nods her head and gets in her car.

"Okay" she says. "Plus, there's always your premiere to cheer me up." I raise my eyebrow in confusion. I hadn't asked her yet.

"You weren't gonna ask me?" she asks, raising her eyebrow in return before backing out of the driveway.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight…duh.**

"Hello?" I ask groggily into my phone.

" Come on, man" Jasper chides. "You gotta get up."

"Why?" I whine. "The premiere is tomorrow. I'm done with press shit. All I have to do is show up and look pretty."

"Pretty boy" he teases. "Anyway, yes. You're done with promo for the movie. But… you have that Details magazine cover shoot that I assume you forgot about."

"Shit!" I yell, looking at the clock. "What time is it?"

"12:00. You need to wash your ass and get over there, now. Nice job on Leno- even though that eye roll was a bit much."

"Fine. Whatever" I say, throwing the covers off of me, hitting Bella in the face. "Mmmph!" she grunts, kicking the covers off her feet and throwing a pillow at me… in her sleep… before turning over.

"Babe" I say, shaking her awake. " I gotta go.

" "What? Why?" she asks, rubbing her eyes.

"Photoshoot." I explain. "Sorry I forgot to tell you. I completely spaced on it."

"Awwww" she pouts. "Boooooooooooooooooo!" she whisper shouts, with a thumbs down motion while rubbing the sleep out of her eye.

"You and me both" I say, taking my boxers off and heading to the bathroom.

"I'm up now!" Bella laughs, following me. After getting dirty and clean, I drive like a madman to get to the shoot on time. I don't want to be the stereotypical Hollywood asshole who keeps people waiting for hours.

The first outfit is of me in a long sleeve black shirt with a red scarf around my neck with some jeans. I fucking hate scarves. Next, there's one of me with a leather jacket black jeans and no shirt. Really? Why would I have on a leather jacket with no shirt? That's stupid. Last, is a simple black suit with a blue tie taken on a beach.

The interview questions were pretty basic. What was shooting with Aro Volturi like? What's your next project? That kind of stuff.

The interviewer actually ended up being a guy so there was no clingy, slutty girl with too much cleavage and sexual innuendos to make me uncomfortable.

Unless…he was gay…probably not…hmmm…

However, it lasted longer than expected. So, I ended up leaving around 5 or 6. I go into my dressing room to find Emmett and Rosalie sitting on the couch.

"Ummm…" I lead off. I wasn't expecting them to be here today.

"Hello, Edward." Rose says, shaking my head. "I'd like to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"What are you wearing to the premiere tomorrow?" she asks.

"I don't know" I start. "Gucci? Armani? I've been sent shit tons of stuff. I was just going to pick one when I got back home and send it to the tailor." I finish and get a bottle of water.

"That'll be okay." She waves my statement off. "I have someone for you to wear."

"Who?"

"Alice" she answers, going through her phone.

I hear Tetris

"Alice?" Emmett and I question in unison.

"Yeah. She's a designer. A pretty good one, at that. I have no idea why she doesn't see it. She has miles of shit that she designs and doesn't do anything with it. It ends tomorrow." She says, with her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she continues to play the game on her phone.

"Rose" I start. "I don't know if…"

I had nothing against Alice. I'd just never seen anything of hers before.

"Look" she stares up at me, pausing her game. "This is how it's gonna play out. We're going to debate the pros and cons of this. I'll win because I'm one of the most stubborn bitches you will ever encounter. So, why not just quit while we're ahead?" she asks. "I know that you haven't seen her work before. But, I need you to trust me on this. I would never steer you wrong. You'll look fabulous. Bella will surely look fabulous…"

"Bella's wearing something too?"

"Yeah. She just doesn't know it yet. Anyway, Alice refuses to believe in her talent because she can't 'see' it happening for her. I've tried to encourage her to dip her toe in the fashion pool. She refused. So, I'm pushing her into the deep end without telling her. This way, when everyone loves her shit, I get to be her agent and take partial credit for her rise to power." She gloats. "Plus, I'm pregnant. There isn't much she can do to me."

"How do you know…"

"She will." She says, going back to her game.

"Well…I guess" I say, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"I knew you would. Emmett gave me your measurements. That way, we won't have to worry about how it fits." she says, before shaking my hand and heading towards the door. "You won't regret it."

And she's gone

"Damn, she's fine." Emmett checks out her ass as she walks away. "I love her."

"Good to know." I say. "You okay?"

"We're better." He shrugs his shoulders. "I'm gonna take some take out over to her place for a night in. I can't cook and I won't subject our unborn child to Rose's attempt to cook anything edible."

I laugh at that. I've heard many stories of Emmett's kindness towards Rose's cooking leading to a terrifying case of the squirts later. I'm so lucky that Bella can cook, because I'd probably eat her shitty food.

If that's not love, I don't know what is

I head home, to Bella's, a little after 6 and see Bella in the dining room, reading a script, drinking a milkshake, and speaking to someone on the phone.

"Hey!" she mouths at me, beaming and giving me the one minute signal, before I sit next to her. I can see her reading the highlighted Anyone But You script.

I haven't really thought about it until now. Honestly, Bella and I have never been apart for more than a week or so. But, for this movie, she'd be in Fiji shooting for about 6 weeks, while I would be filming around Europe for my next movie. I don't being away from each other for long periods of time. But, in this life it's a necessity. Hopefully, after we get…

"Alright" Bella, laughs into the phone. "I gotta go. Sure. It's been fun. Thanks for calling. It's nice that we got to talk and touch base before shooting got started and hectic." She pauses. "Oh, I'll bring it, alright" she laughs.

What?

"See you, Ryan." She says, hanging up the phone.

Call me curious.

"Who was that?" I ask, calmly.

"Ryan Reynolds" she waves him off.

Wait a minute…

"How did he get your number?"

"His people called my people. Hollywood shit. You know. To be honest, Alice probably gave it to him. She's a sucker for a cute blonde with a six pack." She laughs, rolling her eyes.

"So, you think he's… hot?" I ask, raising my eyebrow. "Edward?" she question. "Are you jealous?"

"What?" I ask, shaking my head, looking at the vase in the corner.

"Oh my God" she laughs. "You're jealous! I can't believe this." She adds, pinching my cheeks. "Someone needs a little reassurance." She adds, kissing my cheek and talking in her baby voice.

"It's just… you're gonna be on a tropical island with 'hot' Ryan Reynolds and his 'six pack'," I say.

"Whatever" she waves it off. "I'll be working on a hot and humid clump of dirt with my married co star and probably be depressed out of my mind because I'll wish you were there with me." she hugs wraps herself around my waist, hugging my closely. "Besides, I didn't call him 'hot' I called him cute. He called to bounce ideas off for the movie before it starts to shoot so we won't be strangers. No man compares to my sexy sex god, aka…Mufasa" she ends with a whisper. "I can't believe you." She laughs and shakes her head.

"You're leaving in 4 weeks." I say, sitting my chin on her head.

They had to delay the start of shooting to switch the location of where the island shooting would be. So, instead of Bella going to Hawaii, she'd be in Fiji instead.

"I know" she whispers into my chest. "I'll miss you every day."

"Me too" I say, running my fingers through her hair.

"Edward?"

"Yeah"

"I'm hungry" she says, right before her stomach starts to growl causing her to blush that adorable crimson color.

"I say you are" I tease, poking her tummy like the Pillsburry dough boy.

"I made dinner" she says, turning on the microwave. "I didn't know what time you'd be home so…"

"You put your dinner on hold for me?" I asked. She just shrugs her shoulder.

"I wanted to eat with you." I'm not gonna lie. I was a little touched by that sentiment. No one I know loves food more than Bella.

As soon as I smelled the beautiful aroma out of the oven, I wanted to cry. I had to close my eyes to concentrate on how good it smells.

"I made Baked Penne Alfredo with chicken, crab, and lobster. I couldn't decide what I wanted. So I just added all three meats. Plus, I have homemade garlic bread… and lasagna… and lemonade…and ice tea… and pecan pie." She smiles, resting her shoulder on the fridge. "I took it down South for the desert."

"No" I whisper, eyeing the oven, microwave, and freezer. I'm surprised I haven't gone cross eyed.

"Yes" She replies, before slowly bending over to take the food out of the oven. The pasta was baked to a golden brown perfection, the cheese topping bubbling like a volcano of goodness. "Will you please set the table?"

Don't cry. Don't cry.

"Okay" I croak before getting the plates and silverware. 2 and a half excruciating minutes later, we said grace and started to eat our food.

"Bella"

"Yeah?"

"Just so you know," I start out, taking a bite of pasta. FUCK! That's good. I just got hard. "As soon as we're finished eating, I'm going to take you upstairs ad ravish the shit out of you." I end calmly before taking a bite of garlic bread.

"Please do" she says, her glowing brown orbs staring into my green ones. "Taste good?" she asks, coyly taking a sip of lemonade.

"Almost as good as your p…"

Then, I heard the sound of Satan's pet, enter the room.

Cujo… and the mood of foreplay is gone.

"Hey, man" Bella ruffles his hair as he rubs his head on her leg. "You want some food? You want some food, huh? Mommy cooked for you. Yes, she did" she says in her baby voice. "I'll be right back." She says before she goes into the kitchen.

I continue to eat my food and proceed to get into a staring contest with the growling German Shepherd.

"Fuck you. I can stare too."

Don't judge me. You know he's evil.

His growl turns from one of contempt to one of love as Bella comes back into the room with a plate of lasagna.

"Here we go, sweetie" she coos at the monster before he digs in. "And you say he's evil." She says to me. "How can he be evil?" she asks, ruffling his hair. "Look at that face"

"You'll see one day." I tell her. "You'll see."

She laughs at me and continues to eat her food.

"What's your next movie about?" she asks. "You're leaving two weeks after me and I have no clue what it's about."

"I'm really excited about this one. It's called Inception. Christopher Nolan is directing" I tell her.

"Wow" she says, interested. "He did The Dark Night. He's really good. Tell me about it."

"It's with me, Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon Levitt…"

"Oh, he's great!" Bella interrupts. "Don't look at me like that. We worked on (500) Days of Summer together. I was Summer. He's fabulous."

After that minor interruption, I go into detail about the movie. Bella seems really excited about my opportunity as well.

"Where will you be shooting?" she asks, holding my hand across the table.

"Around Europe and Asia" I tell her. "It's gonna be around 4 months."

"Oh" she says in a small voice. "Lengthy"

"Yeah" I say, putting her in my lap. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I know what's it's like. Maybe I could visit or something?"

"You don't have to ask."

"It's gonna be here before we know it." She says, looking down at our intertwined hands.

"Well, we have to make the most of it now won't we?" I ask, throwing her over my shoulder and heading upstairs.

"Finally" she giggles. "I was gonna chew your food for you."

"Nymph" I tease.

"I'm not addicted to sex. I'm addicted to sex with you. There is a difference." "Sure there is" I say, throwing her on the bed and jumping on top of her.

"What time is the limo arriving?" Bella asks, eating some leftovers from last night.

We've just been lounging around the house all day, since we were both done with our respective projects. There wouldn't be much time for this in the future. So, we're making the best of it.

"The premiere starts at 7. So, I'm guessing 5ish" I tell her as I turn on the television. "I don't know."

"Which means that the WonderBitches will be here any minute, then" she yawns. "I'm sleepy."

"What?" I laugh. "It's only 1:00. We got out of bed at 11:00"

"But we weren't sleeping. Were we?" she raises an eyebrow. "Don't make fun of my sleeping habits. I went weeks without a nap. Leave me alone." She narrows her eyes at me as the door bell rings as I go to answer it. "Shit" she says, running down the hallway to the stairs.

"Don't you run from us, Bella Swan" Alice shouts running after her with a bag full of shit that I guess is girl related.

"Catch me if you can, bitch!" Bella eloquently replies, running up the stairs before tripping. Alice grabs her ankle. "Shit" Bella whimpers.

"Bella, don't make me drag you down the stairs. It's gonna be hard to hide carpet burn" Alice reasons, with one hand on Bella's ankle and the other on the banister. "Thank you." She finishes as Bella's stands up. "March! Upstairs" she orders causing Bella to stomp the whole way.

"Bye Edward" Bella huffs as Alice closes the door behind them.

"Children." Rose shakes her head, checking her cell phone. "Both of them."

"I personally think it's funny a Hell" I laugh, going back to watching t.v.

"Here is your suit" she says, as a suit bag and shoe box is handed to me.

"Okay" I start. "But, I reserve the right to wear something else if it's like leopard print or something."

"Pfft." She huffs, as her phone makes a sad sound. Tetris. "I'd never do that to you. The suit is great. All the sexy debonair…ness of a tux. Yet, the laid back feel of a regular suit…tailored just for you. Now, the shoes are Armani. Alice hasn't mastered making men's shoes yet."

"She does shoes too?" I ask.

"Only women's. Bella is getting the full treatment."

"It's nice" I tell her. "What you're doing for her." To be honest, from what I've seen and heard of Rose, apart from what happened a couple weeks ago, I wouldn't have pegged her for a particularly nice person.

"I'm nice on occasion." She smiles, until she gets a text message. "She's my friend and I want what's best for her. Plus, the whole agent bit. I'm always looking for some good talent."

"Well, even though it might be mildly selfish, it's still pretty cool."

"Stop being all noble and shit" she chides. "Look. It took a lot of planning to get this done. I had to get your measurement, convince Jasper to steal the outfits from Alice's closet…for you two. Don't fuck us over on this." She points her red finger at me.

"Uh…Okay" I say, suddenly feeling a little scared.

"Oh. When they ask you what you're wearing, say Pix. Okay?" "Got it" I say, flipping the channel.

"Rose!" Alice shouts. "Get the dress. We need to brainstorm what to put together since Bella dragged her ass on the subject all week…Ouch!"

"Okay" she says, taking the dress bag upstairs.

"Rose, can I see?" I ask.

"Nope" she says, popping the 'p'. "It's going to be a surprise for everybody" she giggles, going upstairs and closing the door.

"WHAT?" I hear Alice's high pitched voice scream. "Oh HELL no!" "You can't hit me! Remember, I'm pregnant" Rose yells.

"What are you guys talking about?" Bella yells. "Why are we screaming? Alice, stop trying to hit Rose. I'll put you in a half Nelson if I have to."

Time to go.

A few hours later, I look myself over in the mirror when I finally finish getting ready. I must say that Alice's suit is probably the most comfortable and best looking one I've ever worn. It's amazing. She's really talented. The suit is black with a lighter black shirt underneath with velvet buttons. I was a little scared about the velvet. But, it's kinda cool. You can't really tell unless you feel it. I leave the top two buttons undone so I don't have to wear a tie. I hate those fuckers. It's dress up and down at the same time.

"Looking good, Cullen" Emmett says, coming back from a call.

"Shit" Jasper says, shutting his cell phone. "Alice is pissed."

"Really?" I ask. "This suit is awesome"

"She just doesn't see her talent. I think she's more scared than anything though" he tells me.

"Why?" Emmett asks. "Her shit is great. She almost makes Edward look presentable."

"She can't see it happening" he says. "I'm confused"

"Alice can see things" Jasper elaborates. "Like psychic."

"Awesome!" Emmett shouts, spewing potato flakes everywhere. "Why doesn't she play the lottery? That's what I'd do."

"It doesn't work that way. She can't see her future…just others. And because of that, she's thinks it's not in her destiny. She's convinced herself that she'd fail."

"Damn" I say, looking myself over. "That's tough."

"For me, it is." Jasper affirms, getting up. "Let's go over these questions one more time."

After that, we went over the prepackaged answers that could easily be changed into a different/same answer for another 30 minutes. Next, I was in the limo to go pick up Bella.

"Hey Mom" I say into the phone, not even checking to see who it was.

"Hello" she replies. "So, I guess you haven't forgotten about is, then?" she asks.

Drama Queen

"Sorry" I apologize. "It's just everything has been really hectic. Mom, a lot has been going on?"

"Sure it has." I know she's rolling her eyes right now. "You getting ready for the premiere?"

"In the limo to go pick Bella up now" I say smiling.

"Awww" she gushes into the phone. "I'm so excited. I can't wait to meet her. By the way, does she have any food allergies?"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. As much as Bella eats, the thought of her having any food allergies if fucking comical.

"I don't think so" I laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asks, confused.

"You'll find out."

"Well, ask anyway" she orders. "Sure. How's dad?"

"He's great. We're great. He's a work now. He has a surgery."

"Oh"

"I'm so happy that you've found somebody" she interrupts. "I feel like I'm one step closer to grandchildren."

"Mom" I huff.

"Edward" she replies my sentiment. "Don't ruin my dream."

"Okay" I appease her as the limo pulls into the driveway. "Mom, I gotta go. I'm pulling into Bella's."

"Hmph." She pouts into the phone. "Call me later."

"I will"

"I'm serious. If you don't, I'll show Bella the Santa Claus picture."

No…not the Santa Claus picture

"Okay" I tell her, trying not to sound scared. "We have an understanding. Be a gentleman"

"Mom, this isn't our first date."

"Shut up and listen to me" she tells me. "Bye"

"Bye" I say, getting out of the car.

I opened the door to find a pissed Alice, a satisfied Rose and where's Bella?

"Hello Edward" Alice deadpans, walking over to me to smooth out my suit. "Did you have fun helping to disobey my wishes like my so called friends who won't be named?"

"Shut up" Rose says, rolling her eyes, typing on her computer. "He looks hot. Bella looks hot. Get over yourself."

"I don't think I will" she says, looking at her phone. "November 17, 2010 at 5:00 pm pacific time, my life was officially ruined. Thanks a lot to everyone who was involved."

"Fine" Rose huffs. "Hate me now, until you love me later."

"Psssh" Alice stomps away from me to sit on the couch across from Rose, engaging her in an epic bitch face off.

Awkward

"Um…where's Be…"

"Bella!" Alice yells. "You're partner in betrayal is here" she says. "I didn't know!" I hear her yelling as she comes down the stairs. Wow

She looks beautiful. Her dress looks sheer and it stops in the middle of her thigh. But, bronze, silver and gold sequence covers the important parts, only leaving parts of her back and toned stomach visible. She looks like an angel. (pic on profile)

"Beautiful" I whisper, causing her to blush as she walks over to me and kisses me lightly on the lips.

"Makeup!" Alice shouts as Rose yells, "Hair!"

"At least I saw that one coming" Alice gripes, turning on the television.

"Shut up" Bella says. "You don't look so bad either. I thought the Armani was to die for. Mmmm" She says, clearly checking me out as I do the same to her.

"Okay, kids" Rose interrupts. "You can sex each other up later."

"Not in my clothes" Alice screams, covering her mouth in horror.

"But now, you need to leave if you're going to do the red carpet thing." "I'm being kicked out of my own house. Seriously?" Bella asks.

"If you want to think of it that way" Rose answers, leading us to the door. "Wait" she says, taking her phone out to take a picture of us together. "Renee' told me to send her a picture of you two."

"Oh God" Bella whimpers, face palming herself. "Let's go"

"You look so beautiful" I tell her, admiring her blush.

"Thank you. You do too. I mean…you look handsome. God, you dazzle me" she says as her blush deepens.

"I didn't think Alice would be this pissed." I say, running my finger down her leg.

How did I miss those shoes?

They're clear with jewels and shit on them and sexy as Hell, showcasing her sexy little feet. Thanks Alice!

I have a problem

"Edward?" she asks, shaking my arm. "Are you okay?" "Yeah" I say, shaking my head. "What were you saying?"

"I thought I wouldn't make it to the premiere because I'd be at the police station giving a statement on how and why Alice murdered Rose." She giggles. "Don't let Alice fool you. She might be small, but that bitch is ferocious when she's mad. I had to put her in a headlock to calm her down."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"It was" she says seriously. "Shit got real in that house after you left."

"It was worth it" I say, licking up the side of her neck and placing an open kiss on her pulse point.

I know that shit drives her crazy

"Edward" she moans, playfully.

"I won't ruin your makeup. I promise" I laugh, dragging my hand slowly up her thigh up the bottom of her dress to hook the side of her panties around my finger, feeling the skin goosebump in reaction to my touch. I loved the reaction her body gave me, letting my know I had the same power over her that she had over me. "Thong?" I ask, running my finger along the thin strap.

"No" she shakes her head, moving my hand to cup her ass.

Then the limo stopped.

Shit!

We get off of each other in an attempt to make ourselves look presentable just as the driver comes around to open the door. I step out in front of Bella to a sea of flashing lights and the sound of screaming fans. It's impossible to see in front of you.

"Edward!"

"Edward!"

"Hey!"

"Bella!"

"Bellward! Over here!"

I help Bella out as she grabs my hand and looks into my eyes. I know what she's trying to say. "Here we go."

"Let's do it" she giggles, as we head to the carpet.

We stand together and pose for several pictures together before Bells goes off further down the carpet to leave me to do my interviews. They were the same stupid questions.

What is your next movie?

You're getting a lot of Oscar buzz. Are you excited? How are things with Bella? Are they serious?

"How was shooting with Aro Volturi?"

"Are we gonna be hearing wedding bells in the near future?"

I expected to hear that question. But, it got me thinking. I look at Bella out of the corner of my eye, with the lights of the cameras shining off of her dress making her glow like the angel she is. I know that Bella is the only woman for me. Ever. I want it with her. What's taking me so long?

But, instead of letting my feelings show, I give the answer Jasper told me to. "She's an amazing woman and I'm lucky that she tolerates me." I laugh before going on to the next reporter.

After another round of interviews, we're seated and watching the movie. It's awkward as Hell seeing yourself like that and knowing there are critics all around you judging every move you make. For the thousandth time, I look at Bella who is engrossed in the screen. She turns to me smiling and mouth, "It's really good" before shooting both of her thumbs up and turning her head back to the screen.

Then we saw it. The chair scene.

Fuck. I know Bella and I had talked about shooting it, with everything that happened with Lauren. However, we never discussed actually seeing it in front of people. I've never had to have that conversation because I'd never really had a concrete girlfriend before. Hearing the sounds of Lauren's moans on screen brought my forgetfulness to my attention. Bella turns her head away from me and the screen and closes her eyes, making a weird face. In turn, I squeeze her hand as hard as I can, forcing her to look at me. As her eyes meet mine, I grab her by her neck and kiss her as hard as I can which soon leads our tongues battling for dominance. I let her win. I need her to know that this doesn't matter. It never did. I'm pretty sure this looks unprofessional, but I don't care. When we finally separate we rest our foreheads together and just stare in each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry" I whisper to her. She smiles slightly before turning her head back to the screen.

Shit

After the movie is over, people attending the show come up to me and compliment me on my performance. I thank them. Then, the cast poses for a few pictures. Most are of Lauren, me and the two child actors who play our kids. Luckily, the kids were between us so didn't Lauren didn't try anything. Smart kids. They know we hate each other.

Soon Bella and I were back in the limo. I'd planned for us to go out this evening. I just hope it won't be too awkward.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. I should have talk…"

"It's okay" she huffs, suddenly becoming interested in her hands. "I just need time to…process it, I guess" she says, finally looking at me.

"I was going to take you out to dinner" I tell her. "But if you'd rather go home, I'd understand."

"I could eat" she says, rubbing her stomach.

"Good, because we're here." I say as the restaurant appears.

"Strip" Bella nods her head in approval. "I love steak."

"You love food in general."

"That I do"

"Do you have any food allergies? My mom wants to know. She's planning the meal already."

She laughs at me. "Edward, do I eat like I have allergies? I don't have any that I know of. If I do, it's probably stuff I wouldn't eat anyway." She says, stepping out of the limo after me.

"Bella!"

"Edward!"

"What are your plans for the Holidays?" "Over here please!"

We rush inside, and are seated quickly.

"Mmmm" Bella says, sniffing the air. "I love how steak smells when it's cooking." She adds as her stomach growls. "My stomach is horny."

"What?" I ask laughing.

"Whenever I smell good food, my stomach growls. It's like it knows what's about to happen."

I sit and stare at her in awe at her statement as she looks over the menu. I don't know why that line shocked me so much. "You're weird."

"Ehh…" she shrugs her shoulders. "Oooh…Porterhouse." She nods her head, flipping the page.

"Good evening, Mr. Cullen. Ms. Swan" a waiter comes over to our table. "On behalf of Strip, I'd love to thank you for dining with us. Here are some complimentary drinks. On the house." He says, handing me a beer and Bella a red, sizzly, girlie drink

"Thank you" we say before he leaves us to ourselves.

"This is fucking scrumptious" Bella says, taking another sip of the drink. "I don't know what it is though. But fuck it's good."

"Okay, Willy Wonka" I laugh at her.

"I see you want to be the comedian today" she replies, blushing. "Oh my God!" Bella whispers.

"What? Are you okay?"

"Denzel Washington is coming over to our table." She says, smoothing out her dress. "Do I look okay?" she asks.

Are you kidding me?

"Where?" I ask, looking around, just as he comes into my sight, extending his hand."

"Hello" he says. "I'm sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to come over and say that I love your work" he says, shaking my hand. "I've heard that your latest picture is very good."

"Thank you" I say, honored as Bella rubs my shoulder.

Denzel Washington just complimented me. Wow.

"And my daughter loves your work as well" he says, looking at Bella. "I do as well. You're a very funny lady."

Asshole

"Thank you" she says, blushing after he walks away. "Damn. I should have gotten his autograph. Relax. It's for my mom." She admonishes me as she sips from her drink.

"I wasn't jealous" I lie, looking over the menu for the third time.

"Were too"

"Was not"

"Were too"

"Was no…Shit!" I say, looking over Bella's shoulder as Lauren makes a b line for our table.

"What?" she asks.

"Well…well…well…What do we have here?" Lauren asks, sizing Bella up.

Is everyone here tonight?

"Hello, Lauren" Bella says, not looking away from me.

"Hi Bella" Lauren says, too chipper. "I love your dress. Your designer really knows how to design to hide your problem areas" she says, pointing to Bella's chest and hips.

What? Bella doesn't have any problem areas. What a bitch.

"Well" Bella starts, taking a sip of her drink. "We can't all live on a diet of ice cubes and cum" she says, eating a piece of bread.

After she said that, the person sitting in the booth next to us started to laugh hysterically. I didn't know who it was.

"Hi Edward" she says in her 'sexy voice' making my stomach turn. Why did I ever sleep with her? " People seemed to like the movie" she says, making conversation. "It was a great…pleasure working with you. I'll never forget how talented you are" she says, moving closer to touch my shoulder.

Then, Bella casually wrapped grabbed her hand as if she was admiring her ring. "Lauren, if you touch Edward, I'll break your wrist" she says through a smile. "Afraid of a little competition?" she asks, inching closer.

"More like I'm afraid of jail" she says, inching closer. To anyone who wasn't hearing the conversation, it looked like the two women were laughing at something. "Touch him" Bella smiles. "I dare you" she shrugs her head to me to emphasize her point.

Lauren snatches her hand away from Bella grasp and rolls her eyes. "Call me when you get tired of slumming" she says, flipping her hair. Bella shoots her arm from Lauren and looks away.

"Bella, don't. You're…"

"Overrated?" Lauren adds, laughing.

"No" Bella shakes her head, wiping her eyes. "I'm just wondering how you could sleep wither her" she says, shaking her head.

"Well..." Lauren adds, inching closer to Bella.

"But I guess every woman looks appealing when you're shit faced and your cock is inside her mouth. Because that obviously the only way to get her to shut up." She adds, smiling wiping away her fake tears.

Laughing. Again

"You"

"If you think he's good drunk. You should try him sober. But, you never will because he's mine. So, you can leave now." She says, dismissing her and reading the menu again.

"Bitch"

"Whore" Bella replies as Lauren stomps away. "I should have tripped her ass."

Fuck I love this woman.

Eventually, we made our orders. It was pretty low key, except for the few fans who came up to us for autographs. I paid the bill and we were waiting to get my credit card back so we could leave.

"Hey" I hear the person from the booth who was laughing next to us call. Then, the person taps Bella's shoulder.

"Oh, hey" Bella says, wiping her mouth. "Would you like…"

"Leah Clearwater. Nice to meet you." The woman says, shaking Bella's hand.

"Oh" Bella replies excited. "I'm Bella Swan. It's nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you."

Leah Clearwater was one of the hot up and coming directors. She's been on the indie circuit for about 5 or 6 years before hitting it big a couple of years ago in Hollywood. Her upcoming movie had a lot of buzz around it. I've seen her work. It's really good. I've heard she's batshit crazy though.

"I'm loving your style. Not too many people can put that bitch in her place. She thinks she's God's gift. She actually demanded a role in my next movie. I don't know whose cock she sucked to get that Golden Globe. She has the emotional range of a dial tone" she says, pointing to me. "You need an Oscar for putting up with her on that alone. Plus, you're a fucking excellent actor. Bravo. You're hot and you can actually act." she says, giving me a thumbs up. "Back to what we were talking about." She say's looking at Bella. "I didn't know you had it in you. I'm surprised. You're nice. But if someone fucked you over, I have a feeling you could be a real bitch and I love that." she say, giving Bella her phone. "Put your number in there."

"Uh…okay" Bella says, following directions. "Do you wa…"

"I'll call you…eventually" she says, getting up from the table.

"Bye"

"I love the dress. Who made it?"

"Pix" Bella answers. "Huh?"

"It's a line by my assistant Alice Brandon. It's called Pix. I'm showing my support." Bella smiles, motioning to her outfit.

"Cool" Leah says, walking away. "What just…"

"I don't know."

After I get my card back, we take the limo back home. "I'm nervous" Bella confesses.

"About what?" I ask, as she leans her head on my shoulder.

"Meeting your family" she answers. " We're going up there next week. I just want them to like me" she confides looking at me.

"You'll be fine." I tell her. "I'm the one who should be worried. I have to meet your family… your dad." I say.

Thinking of the Chief makes me lose my shit every time. He just looks so…mean. He's gonna kill me. I know it.

"Why is everyone scared of my dad?" Bella asks no one in particular. "What about the whole, 'no woman is good enough for my baby' mentality?" she asks.

"They won't like you. They'll love you, because I love you. My mom is so excited to see you too. I just hope she doesn't embarrass me."

"They're parents. It's inevitable." She laughs. "I hope I'm not an embarrassing parent."

"Never." I say, shaking my head. "We're too cool to be embarrassing parents."

Bella looks at me for a few seconds after I say that. Then, she smiles and places a kiss on my lips.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"If by some freak reason my parents hate you, which they won't, it won't matter to me anyway."

"That's too bad. Because if my dad hates you, this relationship is over" she jokes before kissing me.

Shit.


	21. Chapter 21

**Ch.30-Meet the Cullens**

"Fuck, I'm nervous" I gripe, searching around the house in my underwear for my favorite pair of jeans. "They're gonna hate me."

"No, they won't. You're awesome" Alice replies, half assedly flipping over my mattress. "Why not just wear another pair?" Alice asks, helping me in my search. "You have a thousand pair of jeans anyway."

But they're my favorite

"They're my favorite" I pout, looking under my couch for the third time. "I need to be comfortable for the flight." I say, causing Alice to roll her eyes.

I was going back to Forks to meet Edward's parents for Thanksgiving and I'm scared shitless. I'm bound to do and or say something inappropriate and or embarrassing.

"I don't understand why that matters." She says, going back to my suitcase, effectively giving up on helping me search.

"I hate flying. I can't sleep on a plane. So, I at least like being comfortable. If I don't find my comfy jeans, I'll be cranky when we land. Then, I might call Edward's mom a bitch or something, sealing her opinion of me." I ramble, looking in my kitchen drawers.

I'm getting desperate

"Are you still looking for those jeans?" Edward asks, laughing and holding a bag of Burger King in his hand. "You've been looking for those for the past 2 hours, Bambi" he pats my shoulder.

Wow. He has on a green v neck long sleeve shirt with nice fitting blue jeans and white and green vans.

"Like what you see?" he asks, raising his eyebrows, and smiling his crooked smirk.

"Yes" I say, giving him a kiss before he gives me a courtesy ass smack.

"Ouch" I say, grabbing my ass.

"You loved it" he counters, grabbing a Vitamin water from the fridge.

I blush. I did.

"I'm so lucky." I say, batting my eyelashes. "I'm in love with a sexy Hollywood actor who just so happens to be a sexual deviant with a huge cock."

Second Chances topped the box office for three straight weeks. He's been getting rave reviews for his performance. He accepts the praise, thanks them, and goes on about his day. It doesn't faze him. I love that. I'm so proud of him. He rolls his eyes at my comment and laughs…most likely at me.

"And I have the love of a gorgeous woman with the strangest sense of humor who has the greatest rack…and ass…ever…and they're real." He replies kissing my forehead.

He understands me

"Flattery" I say, grabbing a Whopper and handing him one.

"They're both for you." He says, taking a sip of water.

Two Whoppers? He's so thoughtful.

"Aww" I coo at him. "I love you. Thanks"

"I love you too." He laughs. "Put some pants on. I don't want a pap getting a glimpse of your ass. That's for my eyes only."

"I'm done packing your shit!" Alice yells, bringing down 3 suitcases.

"We're only gonna be gone for 1 day." Edward laughs, looking at the mountain of shit lying next to his one duffle bag.

"Well… we have evening and day wear. Plus, shoes, makeup and hair equipment."

"I think everything is fine, Alice" I say.

"You sure?" he asks, looking over everything again.

"Oh, yeah" I say, waving it off

"Okay" he shrugs his shoulders. "How's 'Pix' going Alice?" he asks, ruffling her hair and earning a bitch face.

Paps and fashion experts alike absolutely loved my and Edward's outfits at the premiere. I kept getting questions about it on the carpet. She's actually been getting calls from various people about her designs. I'm proud of her, even though she was being a bit of a bitch about it earlier.

"Good" she smiles, fixing her hair. "I'm actually gonna work on some new stuff over the holidays and see where my head is going."

"Great" I say, hugging her. "I'm glad you're doing this."

"Eh…whatever" she waves me off.

"Where are my jeans!" I yell looking around.

"Give up" Alice gripes, heading for the door. "If your organizational skills were half as good as your martial arts, you'd know where they were." I roll my eyes at that comment.

I may or may not have put Alice in a headlock when she attacked Rose. She's still a little emotional about that. We'll get past it…eventually. She's lucky I don't where my guns are. She almost got pistol whipped.

I really need to find those.

"The plane leaves in 2 hours. We gotta get moving" he says, before looking confused. "Sweety, please put some pants on." He laughs, before sitting down on my couch.

"Fine" I huff, finally giving up hope of finding my pants before we leave. We had a lot to do. I had to drop Captain off at the dog sitters. I couldn't take him with us because Edward's mom is allergic to dogs. Then, we had to check our bags. Plus, you have to think about pap interference.

"Don't forget to use the bathroom" Alice laughs.

"I'm not a child" I roll my eyes. "I used it already." I say, going upstairs as I hear the front door close.

After I use the bathroom, I put on the outfit Alice has assigned for me. It's another Pix original from head to toe. Ever since the premiere, she's been a lot more open about people seeing her work. It's a black leather motorcycle jacket with some black skinny jeans and black boots with spikes on the back that resemble the zipper on the jacket (pic on profile). It's sexy. I pair it with a silver chain necklace and I'm ready to go.

"I'm ready" I say, coming downstairs with Captain by my side to grab my purse. "Oka…" he starts as I put Captain in the back seat of Edward's car.

"Edward?" I ask, waving my hand in front of him, before following his line of vision. "Is there something on my shoe?" I ask, brushing the bottom off for toilet paper.

"Uh N-no" he says, shaking his head. "Everything is fine" he assures me getting into the driver's seat.

I'm starting to see a pattern here…

"Do you think we'll miss the flight?" I ask, nervous. "I'm sorry I took so long" I apologize.

"It's okay" he says. "They'll just have to wait until we get there."

"Are we turning into one of those pompous celebrity couples?" I jokingly ask.

"Never" he laughs, backing out of my driveway into paparazzi Hell.

We had to drive a grand total of 12 miles an hour to make sure we didn't run one of those assholes over.

Where you going?

Taking a little vacation?

Looking good guys!

Can I get a picture?

To the left!

"Don't they have someone else to follow?" Edward asks, finally breaking free of the standstill and gunning the gas.

"I swear. It's like for every two that go away, three come back in their place." I say, as Edward grabs my hand over the gear shift and kisses my knuckles.

Captain growls. Edward rolls his eyes.

"See" Edward says, pointing his head to Captain.

"Nope." I shake my head. "He loves you. He was just agreeing with his mommy. Weren't you, sweetie. Mhm" I add ruffling his hair.

"Pfft. Sure" Edward counters, pulling into Doggy Day Care. After we drop Captain off, the gravity of the situation hits me. I'm meeting Edward's parents. Shit.

"I'm scared." I tell him, forcing him to grip my knuckles harder.

"You shouldn't be" he laughs. "They're gonna love you. My mom already does. She never missed an episode of your show."

"It's different." I say. "She's your mom. I'm afraid that they won't approve of me."

"Why wouldn't they?" he asks, kissing my hand again. "You're wonderful."

"I'm not the most… normal person." I say, awkwardly.

"I love your weirdness." He says, pulling into a parking spot in the airport… where we're ambushed by paps again.

Once we make our way through the photographers, we go through security and make our way to… the jet?

"Edward" I pause. "You didn't have to charter a jet. A regular plane would be just fine." I face palm myself.

"Well, I like to fly in style" he counters, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Plus, if I feel the urge to feel you up, or partake in any other sexually devious behavior, I don't want it to end up in Us Weekly." He finishes, placing a kiss in my hair as we board the plane.

"When you put it that way" I laugh taking a seat.

I'm feeling so fly like a G6

"And you said flying makes you nervous. I just want you to relax."

"I don't want your wasting money on me." I tell him.

"Anything regarding you is certainly not wasting money" he says, picking me up from my seat so I can sit on his lap. "Plus, I'm practically still living off of my inheritance money." He adds matter of fact.

What?

"Why doesn't the knowledge of you being a trust fund baby shock me?" I say, rolling my eyes.

"Because you'd love me regardless." He answers me, staring into my eyes.

"You're right" I say, lightly kissing his mouth which quickly turns into our tongues wrestling each other's in a battle for dominance. The sound of the engine roaring, accompanying the feel of the plane starting to take off shock me out of our moment.

"It's okay" he says, as I place my head on his chest. "We'll be there before you know it."

His abs feel heavenly

"I hope so" I say, before a yawn overtakes me.

"Bambi" Edward says, shaking my lightly. "Wake up. We landed."

"Really?" I ask, wiping some drool from the side of my mouth. "I fell asleep." I say to no one in particular.

"Yeah" he laughs, as I get off his lap and start to stretch.

"I've never fallen asleep during a flight before." I say, running my fingers through his hair. "You cured me." I say, hugging him. "You smell good."

"I do what I can" he says.

"Mmm…so humble" I tease, exiting the plane. "What time is it?"

"8:00. We'll be there around 10"

We sign autographs and take pictures for fans. But, there weren't too many paps in the area which was a nice surprise because it was pretty late.

I sit in silence during most of the ride, trying to prepare myself for what is about to happen on our journey to Forks. I mean… meeting the parents is a really big step. Right?

Fuck I'm nervous.

"You have no reason to be nervous" Edward tells me for the eight time today.

"Yes, I do." I huff, crossing my arms. "I'm intimidated. I remember your parents always being… classy and…dignified and…normal. I'll be so out of place. And your mom will hate me."

"No, she won't." he laughs at me. I wish he'd stop doing that. "They'll adore you. It's impossible not to."

"You're just trying to get laid" I say, lightly punching his shoulder.

"Guilty" he laughs at me. Again. "If you keep thinking like that, you're bound to embarrass yourself."

"Being me guarantees some form of embarrassment." I counter rolling my eyes, before my stomach growls.

I'm hungry

"Mom is cooking a late dinner. It should be ready when we get there." He says, rubbing my stomach, as if he's reading my mind.

"Okay" I say.

"Welcome to Forks" he says, pointing to the sign as we pass it.

"It's still green" I say, opening the window.

For some strange reason, I LOVED how Forks smelled. It just has this fresh scent that I found myself fond of. It was one of the few things I liked about this town.

"We'll be there in like 2 minutes" he says, slowing down to drive down a dirt road.

Oh Shit

I feel my palms start to sweat as I see a house come into view.

"Wow" I whisper, as we further approach the mansion. It looks like an antique southern mansion with lights around the exterior. It's an ideal 3 story home with a white exterior, blue shutters and a red door, surrounded by large, tall trees. "It's beautiful."

"It's home" Edward says, looking at the house as he gets out of the car like he's reliving some cherished memory. "It's gonna be okay." He says, opening the door for me.

I felt like the small pathway up the stairs to the front door was a mile long.

Something bad is gonna happen

"Something bad is gonna happen" I whisper, hugging his waist as he unlocks the door with his key.

"Mom? Dad?" he yells through the door.

"Edward?" I hear as a beautiful woman with Edward's color hair peek her head out from behind the wall. "Edward!" she screams and starts to run towards him.

"Mommy" he says relieved, going to meet her halfway. He picks her up and started to twirl her around. I feel like they should have ran in slow motion. The only thing that was missing was a field of daisies.

Awwwww

"My baby is home" she whispers as he puts her back down. She has on a crisp black shirt that is tucked into a pair of blue jeans. "I'm so happy." She adds, straightening his eyebrows and brushing off his shoulders, causing Edward to hang his head. "Carlisle!" she yells. "Baby, come downstairs. Edward and Bella are here." She tells her husband, licking her thumb and wiping something off of Edward's mouth and hugging him again. She barely reaches his sternum.

"Mo-m" Edward whines, shaking his head. "I'm fi-."

"Shut up" she orders.

"Let your mother have her say." I hear as a handsome blonde-haired man coming down the stairs say. "We haven't seen you in ages" he says, walking toward Edward. "Welcome home, son."

"Hi, dad" Edward says, hugging him back. "I missed you guys" he says, as his mother joins in on their hug.

It's so touching to see how they interact with each other…without any punches being thrown. This must be what a normal family does. I doubt I would have made it five minutes before one of the twins threw something at me.

"I…we missed you too." His mother said, when they ended their hug. "I'm so excited to meet…" she says, looking around her. "Where is Bella?" she asks.

It was then that I realized that I was still standing outside the door and had yet to set foot inside the house. They did too.

Awkward

"Come on" his had waves me in.

"We don't bite sweetie" his mom adds.

Edward looks at my most likely terrified face and comes to grab my hand, leading me into the entryway. "It's ok" he whispers in my ear.

Okay, Bella. You can do this. They're just normal people…who just so happened to have possibly the greatest influence in Edward's life. Stop psyching yourself out. It will be fine. Everything will turn out okay.

Great. Now I'm talking to myself

"Mom, Dad" Edward starts. "This is Bella" he introduces as he heads back to go get the door.

"Hello" his parents say, extending the arms for a hug.

"Hello" I say, walking towards them. "It's a pleasure to mee…" At that exact moment, several things happened.

I felt my right ankle resisting my movements, only to discover that one of the spikes on the shoes that Alice forced me to wear has seemed to have gotten caught in the rug in the Cullen's entry way. My body flies to the right, as my feet fly into the air.

It's like it was in slow motion.

"Bella!" I hear, Edward shout from the door. He's trying to save me. It won't work. He's too far away.

"Oh my…" Ms. Cullen says, reaching forward to grab me. Not gonna work.

Mr. Cullen doesn't say anything. All I can see is a look of pure shock mixed on his face, as he tries to catch me as well.

Can the universe really be this cruel? Not only is this the exact same situation that I first saw Edward. This kind of resembles the reasons for my many trips to Forks General Hospital where Mr. Cullen frequently set my legs, arms, or whatever I broke that week back into place, trying not to laugh at the predicaments I got myself into in the first place. Plus, this is the first time I've ever formally met them…especially his mother. Now, I won't be Edward's girlfriend, or Isa'Bella' Swan. Oh no. I'll be that clumsy bitch that fell in their entryway. I've lost them forever. So, I guess that answers the question. The universe can be that cruel.

"FUCK!" I yell before everything goes to black.

"Bella" I hear an unfamiliar voice call to me, followed the snapping of fingers.

"Huh?" I ask groggily, sitting up.

"Wait" Edward whispers. "Not so fast" he says, as I sit up the rest of the way. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?" he asks in rapid succession. I would have made an Alice joke, but I was too disoriented.

"I'm okay" I say, as he kisses the bump on the side of my head, before putting an ice pack on it. Edward's mom looks at us and starts smiling.

"Bella?" Mr. Cullen asks, getting my attention. "Follow my finger." he orders. This was followed by the standard 'How many fingers, Do you hear any ringing? Does your head hurt? questions.

"She doesn't have a concussion" he says, putting his doctor bag away.

"Are you sure?" Edward asks. "Maybe we should take her to the hospital to be sure." He adds.

"No" I whisper, shaking my head. "I hate hospitals. I'm fine. I promise" I say.

"Do you remember what happened?" Dr. Cullen asks.

"I fell…pretty badly. Then, I blacked out."

"You hit your head on the entryway table on your way down." Ms. Cullen adds. "That's what knocked you out."

"You've been unconscious for the past 15 minutes" Edward's father adds. "I was starting to get scared. I thought you were in a coma."

"Scared? Coma?" Edward asks. "You said she was fine."

"I didn't want to scare you" he says.

"But…"

"It's okay" I say, gripping his shoulder. "I'm fine now. The only thing that's hurt is my pride." I say, securing the ice pack to my head.

"You sure?" he asks, again. "You hit your head hard."

"Yeah" I affirm, placing a light kiss on his lips. I don't wanna get too wild in front of his parents.

I think I hear his mom make a funny sound before she put her hand on her chest.

"Oh. Hi, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen" I say, waving at Edward's parents. "I'm Bella. I do my own stunts." I say, giggling and referring to my previous fuck up. "It's nice to meet you." I say, extending my hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too" Edward mom says, engulfing me in a hug. "We don't shake hands. We hug. Plus, there is no Mr. and Mrs. here. I'm Esme." She says, taking a step back to take me in fully. "God, you're beautiful."

"Thank you" I blush. "You are too. I see where Edward gets his good looks from…and his great hair." I say, causing her to laugh and playfully push my shoulder.

"I like you." She says.

Yay!

"I'm Carlisle" his father introduces himself. "Although, we've met before. Your E.R. bills paid for my Mercedes" he laughs.

"Glad I could help" I say, returning his hug.

"Now that the scary part of the evening is over, let's eat dinner." Esme says, leading us to the kitchen.

"I told you it would be fine" Edward whispers in my ear, hugging me from behind.

"Please." I scoff. "I busted my ass within 1 minute of meeting them."

"Well…it's gotta get better from there" he adds, scooting my chair out for me.

I guess so.

"I made your favorite" Esme said, uncovering a plate full of pancakes and eggs. "Sit down and I'll serve."

Oh my God

My soul smiles, as my stomach starts to growl, causing Edward to laugh and shake his head.

"So, how are you guys doing?" Esme asks, serving Carlisle's plate.

"Great." Edward says. "I don't start shooting for another 3 weeks. So, I'm enjoying the vacation with Bella." He says, looking at me. Cue blush.

"How about you Bella?" she asks, serving my plate.

"I'll be leaving for Fiji next week to start another movie." I say, as she gets around to serving my plate.

"What's it about? Who's in it?" she asks, smiling.

"It's about this famous couple who going through a divorce. On their way to his sister's wedding, their plane crashes and they're stuck on a desert island and have to deal with each other. Ryan Reynolds is playing my husband."

"Cool" Carlisle says.

I take that moment to look at my plate. Two pancakes. One scoop of eggs. Two bacon strips.

Is this an appetizer?

"I'm just so glad that we finally get to meet you." Esme says, sitting down to eat.

"Finally" Carlisle adds with a laugh, earning a look from Edward.

What's that about?

"You're the first girl Edward has ever brought home" she states, smiling at me.

"Really?"

"Really" she says. "He didn't even bring home any play dates from pre school."

"I've been nervous about it all week" I admit, taking a small bite of my pancake.

"There's no need." She says, smiling at me. "I absolutely LOVED halfsies" she beamed. "I never missed an episode. Plus, your movies." She adds, smiling.

"Your HBO special was hilarious. When you talked about your grandmother…" Carlisle stops to laugh.

"Really?" I ask. "What was your favorite episode?" I ask.

"Let's see" she says, deliberating. "Oh! The one where Natalie and Samantha made a bet to see how far they could make it on one tank of gas. Then, they got stranded in Mexico and their phones wouldn't work" she says, starting to laugh.

"I liked the one where Michelle got arrested and the whole episode was about how no one was able to answer her call to come bail her out" Carlisle adds, laughing with Esme.

"I forgot that one" she says, giggling.

"I liked the one where Michelle and Samantha set up cameras, trying to find out who Big Daddy was." Edward chimes chin, looking at me. I can tell what he's saying.

'I told you so.'

"By the way" Esme says, looking at Edward. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be a guest star?" she asks. "I would have taped it!"

"I'm sorry" Edward says, sheepishly.

Awww. He's scared of his mommy.

We spent the rest of dinner getting to know each other and I fell in love with Edward's parents. They're so…cool. Plus, if Edward ages like Carlisle, than I'm set up to be a very luck woman.

Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

"Good night" Carlise says, after we get done cleaning the table. "We're old and this is way past our bed time. I'm sleepy." He says, hugging us before going to what I guess is the bedroom.

"Yeah" Esme yawns, stretching. "I have to get up early to start dinner. I'm making all the favorites." She adds. "You guys okay?" she asks, walking behind Carlisle.

"Yeah" Edward and I say, waving to her as she goes to the bedroom.

"Let me show you to my room." Edward says, taking my bags upstairs as I follow him. "Here it is. My room for the first 18 years of my life" he says, turning on the lights.

The room was huge with hardwood floors and black walls with gold music notes over one wall and a huge gold carpet in the middle of the floor. The front wall is made entirely of glass. I look to the other wall and see that it's covered from edge to edge in various records and CDs.

"Cool" I say, running my fingers over his music collection. "The view is amazing" I tell him as I gaze out of his window to look at what looks to be endless miles of trees. "It's beautiful." I add.

"It sure is" he says, coming up behind to engulf me in a hug. "Did I tell you how sexy you look in this outfit" he says, kissing and sucking his way up my neck while unzipping my jacket and throwing it somewhere across the room.

"Mmm" I moan, as my ability to speak disappears in the wake of his touch. I bend my arm around to put my hand around his neck, tugging his mouth to mine placing a needy kiss against his lip. I open my mouth, begging for the intrusion, in my need to feel his tongue move with mine while one of his hands moves up my shirt and under my bra to fondle my breast.

"Edward" I breath in his ear, as he takes my bar off before moving his other hand in mine to guide it down to my aroused core which was surely evident through my soaked jeans. "Ah" I squeak, grinding my ass onto his hard cock, earning a firm thrust forcing my hand to leave his and plant itself on the glass to keep my balance while still grinding against him…with him.

The things this man does to me

"Bella" he growls, spinning me around to face him before closing the gap between us.

"Yes" I say, staring into his jade eyes wrapping my leg around him, which gives me better leverage to roll my hips again him creating the perfect amount of friction. "Baby" I whisper in his ear. "Please"

At that moment, he grabs my other leg, wrapping it around his waist before carrying me to the bed and dropping me down there.

"Damn" he says, looking at me with his trademark grin, before grabbing my legs to start taking my shoes off. "I like these on you" he adds, tossing them over his shoulders. I sit up to pop open the button on his jeans inching them down his legs, taking his boxers with them exposing his cock to me.

Every time I see that thing it amazes me how it fits inside me

I'm knocked out of my peen-induced haze to recognize my hips lifting on their own accord as Edward takes my pants as well as my panties off of me adding them to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. "Fuck, you smell good" he says, running his fingers across my lips, making me gasp as I take my shirt off, finishing to see

Edward completely bare before me as I am bare before me.

"You're so fucking perfect" he says, wrapping my legs around him, leading us down the bed side by side as he teases my core with every movement. "Your tits," he growls in my ear, ghosting over them before sliding down. "Your ass," he adds, giving my backside a firm squeeze. "Your pussy" he adds with a whisper as his fingers part my lips and he begins to finger me slowly, only grazing my entrance and barely touching my clit.

"Edward" I gasp, causing him to kiss me thoroughly.

"Shhh" he says, throwing my leg over his hip. "We need to keep quiet baby" he tells me, while his cock slides between my lips, causing his tip to touch my clit as his shaft rubs against my entrance. "Can you do that, Bambi?" he asks, continuing his movements against me.

I nod my head in compliance and whimper. "Mhmm"

"Good" he says, as he attacks my mouth with his in a desperate kiss. I kiss him back passionately, moving my hand behind his neck to keep him in place. He moans, pushing against me harder, causing the strangest sounds to come out of my mouth.

"Edwar…" I start before he covers my mouth in another kiss.

"Do you know how many fantasies I've had about this?" he asks me, as he moves his head down to wrap his mouth around my nipple. "How many times I've imagined having you like this? In this bed fucking you until you scream my name?" he asks, increasing his pace.

"Oh God" I mumble, pacing my hips with his. "Stop teasing m-me" I beg. I found myself edging closer and closer to the brink. I didn't want to come like this. I wanted him inside me.

"Say it!" he growls in my ear, twisting my leg in a different angle causing me to yelp out. "Say it!" he growls again in my ear again, biting down on my nipple.

That's when I understood. He wanted me to beg.

I'm not above that.

"Fuck me, Edward" I growl in his ear, as the force of him entering me leaves me breathless. He turns me on my back, hovering over me, looking into my eyes as he starts to move inside me.

"Shit" he says, as I move my hips with his.

"Edward" I breath shakily, as his pace increases, sending me closer to the edge. "Oh God" I moan, clenching the sheets in my fists.

"Bella" he hisses, placing one of my knees on his shoulder, causing my arousal to pool yet again. "Fuck, you're so wet. You've got the best pussy" he says, circling his hips against me, sending me to the absolute brink of insanity.

"Oh…ooh…shit" I struggle for words as he continues to piston himself inside me. I pull myself up, molding my lips to his, needing to feel that connection as Edward nibbles on my lip before sucking it into his mouth. I look down to where we're connected, viewing his cock as it rammed in and out of me coated with my arousal in addition to Edward's growls, turned me on in ways I'd never imagined. We looked in each other's eyes and took the same understanding.

This was need. This was lust.

This was animalistic.

And I'm loving every second of it.

From then on, neither of us said a word. The only sounds heard were those of our grunts, our skin and the sound of Edward's headboard.

"Ah…Ah…Ah" I squeak with the power of Edward's thrusts, breaking our silence as I feel myself starting to contract along with a familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach. "I-I'm"

"Come for me" Edward orders. "I feel you. I feel it" he says, his eyes gazing into mine. "Bella" he whispers my name as if it's a prayer. "Edward!" I scream, finally falling over the edge into the abyss of euphoria as finally follows suit filling me with all he has before collapsing on top of me. He knows I love feeling his weight on me.

"Damn" he says, moving to the side to lessen his weight.

"You said it" I say, kissing the crook of his shoulder. "Just when I think you can't get any more perfect." I add, brushing some hair out of his eyes. "God, I love your eyes."

"I love you." He says, taking my face in his hands and placing a simple kiss on my lips before pulling out of me.

"I love you too." I tell him as we sit in silence and stare at each other.

I'm hungry.

"You're still hungry aren't you?" he asks, laughing at me.

"How'd you know?" I ask, shocked.

"I know you" he says, getting out of bed and putting his boxers back on. "I'll be back."

After I had my snack, we went back to cuddling and eventually fell asleep.

The gleaming morning light reflecting off of a mirror in Edward's room wakens me from my sleep. I look over to Edward's side of the bed. He's not here.

So… no to morning sex

It's 9:00 in the morning so I go take a shower so I can go help Esme downstairs with dinner. I put on a dark grey sweater, some dark blue jeans with an elastic waist. That way I can eat in them. Then, I grabbed a pair of chucks and head for the door just as I was getting a call.

"'Ello!" I say to, hearing a chorus of "Hey" in return.

"Happy Thanksgiving guys!"

"Yeah, yeah" Dad says. "How are you?" he asks.

"Everyone doing you alright?" he says, using his 'I'm mining you for information' voice. The only thing that's missing is the stare.

"It's great." I say, giggling at his protectiveness.

"You're still coming for Christmas?" he asks, again.

"Yep"

"And you're…bringing him too." He asks, hesitating.

"Uh huh"

"Okay" he says. "I know it's…"

"Good!" my mom interrupts. "Because I'm not scared to fly up to Washington and beat Ms. Cullen's ass for mistreating my baby." She says, I can picture her sticking her chest out as she said it.

"No need" I say, running a comb through my hair. "She's lovely. They didn't even laugh at me when I fell."

"You fell?" they yell.

"Then, I hit my head on their entry table, and knocked myself out for 15 minutes." They started to laugh…hard.

"Damn, I wish I was there." Daniel says through his laughter.

"Damn"

"Is his dad hot?" David asks, not shocking me one bit.

"Seriously?" I ask.

"You horny bastard." Gran chides.

"I'll take it as a yes" he says.

"You look like me. You talk like me. But…somehow…" Daniels says, leading off. "Is his mom hot?" he asks.

"Stop!" I yell.

"What?" they ask.

"Stop being perverts" Dad orders.

"Hmmph" I say, crossing my arms, putting on lotion. "I gotta go" I say, checking myself over in the mirror. "I'll call you guys later."

"Bye"

"Bye"

"Wait!" mom yells. "Help his mom in the kitchen. If she says she has it under control, she's lying. It's a trick. Help anyway. No woman wants her son to marry a woman who won't cook or clean. If you don't, she'll talk about you like a dog when you leave."

"Uhh…ok" I say, not really understanding. "Bye"

"She knows what she's talking about," Gran says. "It's the leftover 1950s' Stepford housewife in every woman that survived the feminist movement in the 60s."

"Bye. Good luck. They'll love you." She says, before hanging up.

I head downstairs to see Edward, Carlisle and Esme sitting on the couch. Carlisle is on the phone and Esme is hugging Edward.

Is she crying?

I slowly back up and head to go back upstairs. They are obviously having some family time that I don't want to intrude on. My arm touches a flower arrangement, sending it flying to the ground, gaining their attention. Shit.

It was pretty too

"I'm sorry" I say, bending down to clean up the mess. "Something…someone…is always falling around me" I mumble.

"It's okay, sweetie" Esme says, getting a broom while Carlisle and Edward help to pick up the glass.

After we get everything cleaned up, Carlisle and Edward go back into the den, leaving me and Esme in the hallway.

"You okay?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah" she says, wiping her eyes. "Onions"

"It smells great in here." I say.

"Thanks. It's almost done. I started most of everything yesterday. I would have been cooking all day otherwise" she says, as I follow her into the kitchen. I see various finished dishes sitting on the stove, covered in saran wrap and tinfoil.

"Wow" I say, looking at all the food. "This is a lot for only one person to cook."

"Carlisle helped" she says, before helping. "At least he tried. He's an excellent doctor. But, cooking isn't his strong point."

"Do you need any help?" I ask, thinking about Mom's advice.

"It's okay" she says, stirring a pot and checking a timer on one of the ovens. "Everything is almost ready anyway."

It's a trap

"You sure?" I ask. "It feels weird to be in a house where food is being cooked and not to help. I can at least do something." I add.

"Well…" she replies, as the corner of her mouth turns into a grin. "you can grate that block of cheese. Mash the potatoes. Then, add it to that pot over there. After that, shave the chocolate. It's going to go over the cake for desert. Then, put the rolls in the oven for 17 minutes. Normally, it's 20 minutes. But, Edward and Carlisle like them doughy." She finishes, as she takes the turkey out of the oven and sets it on the counter. "Also, stir the pots if you notice anything starting to stick."

"Okay." I say, smelling the area around the oven. My stomach growls on cue. "It smells good."

"Thank you" she says, as she starts to uncover some of the dishes and set them on the table.

I do my tasks carefully. I don't want to do anything that would warrant a hospital visit. Within the next 20 minutes, the dishes are on the dining room table.

"Boys!" Emse yells from the kitchen. "Set the table so we can eat." She orders pouring two glasses of wine and sitting on a stool in the kitchen. "It's the least they can do. They didn't help cook." She gripes rolling her eyes.

Mom and Gran were right.

I blush and laugh and the random bit of wisdom showed by the crazy women in my family.

"What's funny?" she asks, giggling with me.

"Nothing important" I say, shaking my head. "I forgot to tell you. You have a lovely home. I love how it's decorated."

"Thanks" she smiles looking around. "I decorated the entire house. I'm an interior designer."

"Really?" I ask. "That's cool. I couldn't do that to save my life. All the walls in my house are white." I laugh and she joins me. As our laughter dies down, I notice her staring at me.

"My son loves you." She states, looking into my eyes.

"I love him too." I tell her, smiling. "So much."

"He's different now." She says smiling, as she stares into the dining room watching him and Carlisle set the table. "Forks to the left. Knives to the right." She instructs them, rolling her eyes when they go back to correct their mistake. "Thank you" she says, taking my hand in hers.

"What for?" I ask, genuinely confused by her voice of gratitude.

"I was starting to worry that my baby would end up alone" she starts. "Ever since he was little, people, girls, wanted to be around him for the wrong reasons. It scared me. But now, he's different. He's in love. And that radiates off of him…off of both of you. He's different. And it's because of you." She says, as her eyes start to water. "So…thank you." She adds, wiping her tears. "Damn onions."

Great. Now I'm gonna cry.

"Thank you" I say, feeling a hot tear roll down my cheek. "For raising Edward to be the man that he is. They don't make em like they used to. To be honest, I'm not sure they made em like Edward when you made Edward." I say, confusing myself. "Did that make sense?" I ask.

"Yeah" she nods her head.

"Bella. Mommy" Edward comes in. "The table is ready."

"Ok" we say, walking to the dining room.

"Is everything alright?" Edward asks, wiping away one of my tears.

"Yeah" I say, kissing his forehead. "Everything is great."

We sit down and we each get to serve our own plate. I get a normal Thanksgiving portion for a lady. I'm gonna be hungry later. But, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

"I just can't believe you're finally here" Carlisle says to me, smiling. "After all this time" he laughs. "Poor Edward had it bad for you back in the day" he giggles, patting his son on the back.

"Da-ad" he groans, face palming himself. "Please, stop"

"Awww. Come on" Esme coos at her son. "It was cute. Bella, do you remember when you broke your leg?" she asks, laughing.

"Oh God!" Edward moans.

"Which time?" I ask, I spent a lot of time getting bones reset in this town.

"When you surfed down the hill at Thriftway in a shopping cart." Carlisle adds.

"Why?"

"It looked fun" I confess, shrugging my shoulder. "I underestimated the steepness of the hill. It wasn't until I gained momentum that I realized what a flawed plan that was." I finished laughing at my stupidity.

"Anyway, he came home that Monday pissed at me. He was like, 'Why didn't you tell me that Bella broke her leg? I was horrified." He says, in his 'Edward' voice.

"Really?" I ask Edward, softly. "Why didn't…"

"I wanted to drive you home. But, I chickened out." He says, blushing. "We didn't even know he liked you until then." Esme beams.

"By the way, "Carlisle adds. "You owe me some cookies" he finishes pointing his fork at me.

"Oh God" I moan along with Edward, remembering when I accidentally on purpose stole Carlisle's cookies. I felt so embarrassed. "In my defense, the basket was sitting on the reception desk. I thought they were for everybody."

"You took the whole basket" Edward chimes in laughing.

"Okay, there isn't an excuse for that" I admit, joining them.

"Then, there's the time when he thought you had a boyfriend." Esme adds, shaking her head.

"What? When?" I ask. I didn't get a boyfriend until college.

Edward scoffs and rolls his eyes. "We were in Thriftway. I think it was around Christmas or Thanksgiving. You were walking with this guy who looked older. I hadn't seen him before and he hugged you. I thought he was your college boyfriend."

"Aww" Esme pouts. "He was so sad for like 15 minutes."

"What happened then?" I asked. I don't remember anything about this.

"The boy in question hit you in the head with an orange and you kicked him in the chest. So, we assumed that you weren't romantic at that point."

"Eww. That was my brother" I shriek, laughing and shaking my head in disgust at remembering that. "We even look alike."

"It's not like I got up close" Edward laughed, defending himself.

"Please" Carlise scoffs. "He practically stal…Ouch!" he yells, interrupting himself. I look around to see Emse suddenly interested in her mashed potatoes and Edward looking at his father shaking his head.

"Well, I was pretty smitten with you myself" I say to him, kissing his cheek.

"Aww" Esme coos at us, touching a spot over our heart. "Carlisle, they're so cute."

"Yeah" he agrees. "Pass the cranberry sauce."

"Everything was delicious" I say again, after we get through cleaning up after dinner. We ate kind of early so it was only around 4:00. "Is there anything I can do?" I ask, looking around the kitchen.

"Actually" she say, smiling. "Carlisle and I need to go to Port Angeles. Something came up. It'll only take a minute."

"Oh" I say, as Edward wraps his arm around my waist and placing a kiss in my hair…around my bump.

"Everything is fine" Carlisle adds, helping Esme put her coat on. "It won't take long. We'll be back around 6 or 7."

"Which is great" Edward says, opening my jacket for me. "Because I'd like to show you something." He smiles.

"Show me what?" I ask, laughing at the expression on his face.

"Surprise" he tells me, leading me out the door behind his parents and locks the house.

"Please tell me" I ask a third time during our mysterious drive to the mysterious place to see or do something mysterious.

"No" he says, laughing at my desperation.

"You're enjoying this too much" I cross my arms, trying to do 'the look' and get him to tell. But, he's driving so he isn't looking.

"What happened earlier? Before dinner?" he asks, parking the car on the side of the road.

"Just…girl stuff." I say. "Midol and…tampons and…Titanic." I laugh, causing him to roll his eyes.

He opens the door for me and leads me up a hill. "Edward…"

"Trust me" he says, picking me up and crossing into the woods.

"I can walk" I say into his ear. "You don't have to carry me."

"I don't want you to trip" he says, giggling.

"If you weren't right, I'd punch you." I say, joining him.

I place my face in the crook of his neck and inhale his scent until I feel myself drift to sleep.

"Baby" he whispers, kissing my eyes. "Baby, wake up" he says, as placing me down on the ground. "Open your eyes." He says.

"Oh my God" I whisper as I take in the sight before me.

"This is my meadow" he says, grabbing me by the hand to show me around. It's filled with what looks to be a million wildflowers covering the ground in various colors. The entire area is surrounded by trees as the light shines through them, creating a somewhat dimmed version of daylight.

"Edward, it's beautiful" I say, twirling around to stare at the top of the trees that seemed to go on forever.

"I've never take anyone here before. Ever." He says, sitting me down. "Whenever I needed to think, I'd come here to just…cleanse. As far as I know, I'm the only person who knows it's here." He tells, me taking my hand. "And now, you." He adds, placing a light kiss on my knuckles.

"Wow. This is amazing" I say, tackling him the rest of him to the ground, straddling him. We lay there on the ground of this wonderful and make out like a couple of hormonal teenagers. Then, we just stare into each other's eyes.

"We should head back. It's getting too cold." He says, lending me his hand and picking me back up to carry me back to the car.

"We should come back when it's warmer." I say, taking in the scenery as it passes us by.

"Yeah. We should in the Spring or Summer." He agrees, smelling my neck. I giggle.

"That way we can have Summer meadow sex." I say, running my fingers through his hair.

"You amaze me" he laughs, shaking my head.

"If it wasn't so cold outside, you so would have got some. But, I don't want either of us to catch a cold." I tell him, as he places me down by the car.

"Anything else you'd like to do?" he asks. I laugh.

"This is Forks. There isn't anything to do" I tell him. "I'm supposed to be napping right now. The turkey is slowly getting to me." I yawn, as we pull away.

"Fine" he says. "We need to get some gas."

I follow Edward into the gas station. I wanted some cheetos. While I was looking for the snacks, I came across cookie ingredients.

What the Hell?

I grab the ingredients, and a jumbo bag of Cheetos and head to the register.

"O"

"M"

"F"

"G"

"OH MY GOD!"

"NO WAY!"

I look around my area to see that a group of high school girls have cornered Edward while he was pumping the gas. "Can I have a picture?"

"Can I have an autograph?"

"Can I have a picture and an autograph?"

I giggle at Edward's shock expression. They totally blindsided him. They spot me. "OH MY GOD!"

"You're Bella Swan!"

"I have such a girl crush on you." One of them says, while bowing the whole 'I'm not worthy' bow.

"Thanks" I say, loading my bag in the car.

"Can we?" one asks, holding up a camera phone.

"Sure" I say, as Edward and I pose for pictures and sign autographs. "Are you guys gonna get married?" one of them asks.

"Awww" one of them coos.

"You'd have super hot babies." Another of them says, nodding her head. "You guys should totally do it."

Wow.

"Ms. Jackson. Ms. White. Ms. Fairly" I hear a familiar voice interrupt. "I think Mr. Cullen and Mrs. Swan have somewhere to be." He says.

"Okay" they hang their heads and get in a VW Bug and drive away.

No way.

"Mr. Banner?" I ask, turning around. "Ms. Swan" he says, sternly.

"Wow" Edward breaths in fascination.

"Sill causing trouble?" he asks, laughing.

"No!" I say, crossing my arms. "They came over can asked for autographs."

"Sure" he says, teasing us before walking back to his car. "I'm proud of you guys."

"Thanks" Edward and I say, a little dumbfounded…at least on my part.

"Can I uh…have your autographs for my daughter? She thinks you're the coolest people ever." He shakes his head.

"Of course" we say, signing the piece of paper he gave us.

"Have a nice visit" he says, driving away.

"What just happened?" Edward asks, turning on the ignition.

"No clue" I say, opening my bag of Cheetos.

When we get back, I quickly make the batter for my cakies. They're cookies. But, they have the consistency of a brownie. I'm making them because they're quick. Plus, I forgot what kind of cookies I ate that were Carlisle's.

I do remember that they were delicious.

"Can I lick the spoon?" Edward asks, already holding the spoon to his mouth.

"Have at it" I say, putting the pan in the oven and setting the timer. I couldn't resist, so I kissed Edward, loving the taste of Edward and cookie batter.

Delicious

"We're back!" Carlisle says from the entryway making his way into the kitchen as I pull the cakies out of the oven. "What's that?" he asks.

"Sorry." I say, placing the cookies on a plate and giving them to him. "I think we're square now" I tell him.

"We'll see" he says, taking a bite…then another one…then another. "Wow. We're even" he says, taking another cookie and eyeballing Edward when he took one.

"Edward." Esme comes in, nodding her head signaling for him to follow her somewhere.

Okay

"Is everything okay?" I ask Carlisle, worried.

"Yeah" he nods his head, eating another cookie. "She just wants to show him something." He adds, pouring a glass of milk.

"Mom, come on!" I hear Edward groan from the living room. "Not the pictures."

"Uh oh" Carlisle chuckles into his milk. "It's embarrass Edward with baby pictures time."

"Bella. Carlisle." Esme waves us over. "Bella, I want to show you Edward's baby pictures."

"Really?" I ask, looking at Edward, who is looking terrified as I sit down.

"Please?" Edward asks.

"Not a chance" she replies.

"Let your mom have this. She's been wanting to do this for the past 15 years." Carlisle tells his son, licking chocolate off his fingers.

There were stereotypical pictures.

Edward when he was born in Esme's arms.

Edward sleeping.

Edward lying on his stomach.

Edward sleeping on Carlisle's stomach while Carlisle was sleeping. That one was cute.

Edward's first birthday party.

Edward riding a bike.

Edward at a piano recital.

Then, I saw it. The Holy Grail of embarrassing baby pictures.

"Oh my God" I whisper, as Esme grabs the picture and places it in my hands. "This is so cute." I say, talking to Edward who for a change is the one turning crimson.

"Mom, please" Edward begs.

It's a picture of Edward. He's probably about 3 or 4 years old. He's sitting on Santa Claus's lap…screaming his head off. You can see every last one of his little teeth his mouth is open so wide.

"You were scared of Santa?" I ask, pinching his cheek before kissing it.

"He was so excited" Esme starts. "We waited in line for an hour. So, we sit him on his lap and he tells Santa what he wants. But as soon as the elf took the picture, he's started yelling. Then, he hopped off Santa's lap and ran to Carlisle." She finishes, laughing.

"The whole way home he kept saying, 'Daddy, I don't like Santa. Mommy, I don't like Santa. He's not welcome in our house! I don't care if I don't get presents." He says in his Edward child voice. "It took everything I had in me not to laugh at him because he was so upset."

"Awww" I say, hugging him and rubbing his hair. "It's okay."

"Ha ha ha" he says, rolling his eyes. "Are we finished humiliating me now?" he asks.

"Yes" Esme says, closing the book and taking it back upstairs.

"I never pegged you as a kid who'd be scared of Santa" I tease him with a poke as we head upstairs.

"A lot of children are scared of Santa." He defends himself. "It was perfectly normal."

"I loved Santa. He loves cookies. I love cookies. He gives you free presents just for being good. Food and gifts? Santa is awesome." I reason. "If you should be scared of anything, be scared of the Easter Bunny."

"Why the Easter Bunny?" he asks, changing into his pajamas.

"No bunny rabbit should be that big" I say with a straight face, putting on one of Edward's shirts and hopping in the bed.

"I'll thoroughly enjoy seeing your embarrassing pictures." He taunts, getting in behind me. "I'm sure you have tons more than I do."

Point

"I'll shut up now" I say, cuddling into his shoulder.

The next morning, we had a lovely breakfast of French toast, eggs, and bacon before we packed the car to head to the airport.

"It was great meeting you, Bella." Carlisle says, hugging me. "You lived up to the hype." He whispers in my ear before as Esme comes up to hug me.

"Take care of my baby" she whispers in my ear before going over to Edward and brushing her fingers through his hair before fixing his jacket just right. Then, she brushed some lint, that may or may not have been imaginary, off of his pants.

"Mom" he laughs, hugging her.

"I know" she huffs, hugging him one last time. "Bye" she says, waving at us.

"Bye" we say, waving back.

"It was nice meeting you." I say, hugging them one last time.

"Call us when you get to the airport… and again when you get home. Okay?" Esme asks.

"Okay" we say, pulling out of the driveway. "Was that so bad?" Edward asks.

"No." I say, blushing. "It wasn't. I shouldn't have worried so much."

"You're right. It wasn't" he says, gloating.

"I can't wait for you to meet Daddy" I say smiling. "He's gonna love you." I hear Edward's breath catch.

Seriously?


	22. Chapter 22

**EPOV**

"Hello Golden Globe nominee!" Emmett says, walking into the room scaring the shit out of the tailor.

It's officially ass kissing season. Last week, the nominations for the Golden Globes came out. I was nominated for Second Chances. Bella got two nominations, one for Best Comedic Actress in Halfsies and one for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for Time. She's not phased at all. She's convinced that she's not going to win.

And she say's people don't take her seriously…

"Ouch!" I hiss. "Damn it, Emmett" I say, as the tailor sticks a pin in my right thigh. Since I'm heading off to shooting in the next two weeks, I'm getting fitted for wardrobe. It's mostly expensive suits so I can tell I'm not gonna be comfortable.

"Inside voice" Jasper says, following behind him.

"Sorry" he shrugs his shoulders. "I don't have an inside voice." I don't have a verbal reply so I just flick him off.

"Is that your outside voice?" Jasper asks, in confusion with a little bit of amazement. "It's like you have a megaphone in your vocal chords."

"What time are you leaving?" Em asks.

"4. We'll get there at 10 pacific but it'll be 7 eastern time." I say, starting to get uncomfortable as the tailor gets dangerously close to my crotch.

Watch it.

"Nervous about meeting the Chief" Emmett laughs at me.

"Huh?" I ask, jumping. "Fuck!" I yell, feeling another needle pierce the inside of my thigh.

The guys know about my Chief phobia. I immediately regretted telling them about it. They've been tormenting me about it nonstop.

"I can see the sweat starting to form on his forehead." Jasper points out. "He's scared shitless."

"Am not" I defend, wanting to cross my arms.

"Are too." Em says, taking a picture with his camera phone. "Look! The sweat is creating a glare in the picture." He laughs.

"Shut up or I'll tell Bella" I say to Emmett, causing his face to drop.

Ever since the whole Rose/Emmett thing when Bella rearranged Emmett's face, he's been scared of her. I don't think they've said more than 10 words to each other since it happened.

"That was a low blow." He says, shaking his head. "Totally uncalled for."

"Bella's dad taught her martial arts." Jasper adds, trying not to chuckle.

Shit. I never thought about that. If he taught Bella, he's probably a thousand times better at it than she is.

"Fuck you both" I breath out, in relief that I can take this suit off of me.

The entire drive home we exchange jokes. They tease me about my Chief phobia, I tease Emmett that he's scared of an 100 pound woman. It's fun.

"All jokes aside," Jazz starts. "How's the whole distance thing."

The week after we got back, Bella flew to Fiji to start shooting. I miss her like crazy. We had tons of see you later sex.

As if she knew I was thinking about her, I get a text.

**Bella: 8 more hours baby. **

**Edward: Not soon enough**

"It's hard. I miss her a lot. But, she'll meet me at the airport in Atlanta. So, it won't be long."

"Ali says that Bella is getting on her nerves with all her 'I miss Mufasa' shit." Jasper rolls his eyes. "By the way, what does that mean?" he asks.

"None of your business" I say, walking inside my house.

"I bet it's kinky" Emmett says, wagging his eyebrows before his phone rings.

"When is that last time you've been here?" Jazz asks, blowing dust off of my dining room table. I shrug my shoulders.

"I spend my time at Bella's"

"You practically live together." He laughs. "You sly dog, moving in little by little. Next thing you know you two will be sharing a closet."

We already are.

"Shut up" I say, looking in the fridge to find that there isn't anything there.

"It's 3:00" Em says, coming downstairs. "You should head to the airport if you want to get to Atlanta on time." He says, throwing my duffle bag at me. "You need to dust…badly."

"Thanks" I say, checking the bag one more time. I need to make sure that I have…"

"Is this what I think it is?" Jazz asks, waving the small black velvet box in the air.

"Dude!"

It was. I had an ulterior motive when I took Bella to meet my parents. I mean, I've wanted them to meet forever. But, one of the main reasons was to ask my mom for my grandmother Platt's ring. It's been in my family for 90 years and has an amazing story behind it. I don't want to give Bella a ring with no meaning behind it. It belongs on her finger. I want to ask Chief for his blessing since we're visiting for Christmas Eve and Christmas.

I hope he doesn't kill me.

"Let me see" Em orders, snatching it out of Jazz's hand, earning him a punch in his side. "Ouch!" he says, dropping the box to cover his eye. "That shit blinded me."

"Stop being a… daaaaamn!" Jazz says, taking the ring in his hand to inspect it. "How much did you spend on this?"

"Nothing" I say, putting it back in my duffle bag. "It's my grandmother's ring."

I may not have paid anything for it, but it's worth a pretty penny. My dad made my mom put it in a safety deposit box in the Port Angeles Bank because he felt weird about something that valuable and easily stolen in the house. By looking at it, I guess you can call it a bit…ostentatious. Honestly, I can't wait to see this on Bella's finger to keep scheming assholes away. She'd kill me if I actually paid how much it's worth. But, it's free. So she shouldn't have a problem wearing it.

Loophole.

"I need to buy Rose a bigger ring." Emmett says. "Thanks a lot douche, for fucking it up for the regular people."

"You're proposing to Rose?" I ask, shocked. I didn't know he was thinking about it. Things were a lot better with them. She was in her 5th month of her pregnancy, just entering her second trimester.

"Yeah" he says, looking weird that I didn't consider it. "On New Year's. I love her. She's a bitch. But, she's my bitch." He says, smiling. "I got her a 3 carat ring. But you had to go and get that fucking boulder. So, now I have to upgrade." He shakes his head. "Fuck you, man."

"I love you too." I say, walking out to my car and going to the airport.

I didn't want any rumors about me proposing to be in the press, so I kept the ring on my person as the people checked my bag at the airport.

"Here we are, Edward." The flight stewardess on the private jet ushers me up the stairs, her hand a little bit too close to my ass says in her 'seductive' voice. "My name is Mercedes."

Here we go.

"So you won't be flying alone, I've been assigned to accompany you and serve all of your…needs." She says, all and needs. "Don't be afraid to ask. I've been known to be very…"

"Let me guess." I hear an unmistakable voice come from behind Mercedes. "Flexible?" Bella questions, scooting past her to stand beside me, and breaking the her hold on my back at the same time. I didn't even care that Cujo ran past me onto the plane.

She's here? She's here!

"Uh…yes" she says, immediately changing her demeanor. "My name is Mercedes and I'll…"

"I know" Bella says, tossing her bag inside the jet. "It's okay. We don't need you. We'll be fine by ourselves."

"But I…"

"Will be paid for your inconvenience." Bella interrupts again. "At least you get to spend the holidays with your family."

"Ok" Mercedes says, scoffing and rolling her eyes at Bella. "Have a nice day. I hope to fly with you very soon, Mr. Cullen" she says, in her raspy voice.

"I'm sure you do." Bella says, getting into the plane.

"Bitch" the stewardess hisses walking down the stairs.

"You might want to button up your blouse." I tell her, pointing to the black lace peeking out. She smiles. "People might think you're a whore." I finish, closing the door.

"Mercedes? More like a Pinto. Ho…Ho…Ho…" Bella scoffs, before walking over to me. "Surprise?" she says, holding her arms out.

"Very much so" I say, hugging her and taking her in. " I didn't know you'd be flying with me." I say, kissing her hair and sitting her on my lap.

"Well… I got done a couple hours early. So, I took the first plane here. I got here about 10 minutes after you did. I wanted to fly with you." She says, snuggling into my chest. "I missed you," she says softly as I run my fingers through her hair.

"Not as much as I missed you." I say, giggling at she sniffed by shirt.

"Impossible" she replies. "I thought Alice was going to throw me out of a window…or at least try to. I could totally take her" she laughs, trying to kiss my mouth, but only making my chin. It was then that I noticed her appearance.

"What's wrong?" I ask. She had bags under her eyes, looked sallow and was smaller than usual. "You lost weight. Are you sick?"

As much as I wanted to meet Bella's family and make a good first impression, I

wouldn't hesitate to ground the plane and get her to a hospital.

"Ah…I'm okay" she says, waving me off. "This is what I look like with 4 weeks of no naps and limited snacks. The island shooting is a little hectic that's all." She reasons, while she yawns. "I'm fine. I promise."

"You need to eat" I say, going into my bag. "I was saving this for later. But…" I lead off, giving her a giant bag of Cheetos and a bottle of Coke. "That's to start."

"Baby…" she whispers, taking the bag. "That's so sweet. I love you," she says kissing me. She made it to my lips this time.

"When you're hungry, you need to eat" I tell her, rubbing her back. "You can't let them work you too hard." I say, kissing her.

"Okay" she giggles, straddling me on my chair. "I'm officially reprimanded."

"Eat" I order, opening up the bag.

"I don't want to kiss you with Cheeto breath," she says, leaning in for a kiss.

"I missed you so much," I tell her, escalating our kiss, moving my lips to kiss her face, eyes, lips, neck…everything I could reach.

"Baby, I missed you too" she says, tugging on my hair and grinding her hips into mine.

Must…stop…now

"B-Bambi" I stutter. Nothing. "Sweetie" Still grinding the fuck out of me. "We need to stop." I tell her, grabbing her wrists in mine.

"Why?" she asks, her lips swollen and eyes growing darker. "I want you."

"Cameras" I say.

The last thing either of us wants is a sex tape. No matter how awesome and revolutionary it may be.

"Damn" she huffs, grabbing the Cheetos and taking a handful. "I wanted to join the mile high club" she says, pout in place. "I was looking forward to that."

"Maybe some other time" I say, putting her back on my lap as she fed me a Cheeto.

Sexy.

"I love you"

"I love you too" she says, "I even shared my food with you" she giggles.

"I'm nervous" I admit, taking a sip out of a Coke can. "I can't help it."

"I won't laugh, like some people." She says, pointing to the fact I found her fear of my parents amusing. "But, they'll love you. So will my dad. At least I hope so…for your sake." She jokes.

At least I hope so

"If Daddy Dearest hates me, I get the boot?" I pout. "Oh yeah" she affirms, giggling.

Shit

"You know I'm joking right?" she laughs. "Every time I say that, your face pales up and you start to sweat."

"I thought you weren't gonna laugh at me"

"I lied… by accident of course"

"Not helping" I deadpan.

"Fine" she rolls her eyes. "I'll give you a background. Mom will love you, regardless. She loves everyone. Just don't piss her off too badly when you first meet her. David will love you because he's gay and you're every girl and gay man's fantasy. You're hot shit, babe. Daniel… he probably won't care who you are. He'll ridicule you just the same. Gran doesn't give a fuck. As long as you share her sentiment you're good. Dad… he's got a tough shell. But, once you crack it, he's the sweetest guy every…after you of course," she adds, kissing my nose. "You'll do great. I have to worry about making us not seem as crazy as we are."

"Get some sleep" I tell her.

"Are you telling me I look like shit?"

"I'm saying you look tired"

"Spoken like a politician" she says, resting her head on my shoulders. Unfortunately, I'm not like Bella. I don't have the ability to sleep just anywhere.

Which is why I spent the entirety of our plane ride thinking of the different ways Chief can kill me.

This is gonna end badly.

After waking Bella up, we got through customs as soon as the paps would let us. But, it wasn't nearly as bad as L.A..

"My parents live about 45 minutes from the airport. We'll be there around 8:30" she says, climbing into the Volvo we rented at the airport. She plugs in her iPod and start making the trip to the Swan's house.

"Why are you so nervous about my dad? Honestly" she asks.

He's killed people. He's mean as Hell. Plus, I want to ask him for your hand in marriage. So, he'll probably kill me.

"No reason. You just think so highly of him. I want him to like me."

"He will. You gotta stop…" the ringing of her cell phone interrupts her.

"Speak of the devil…" she says, answering. "Hey, Daddy. Yes we landed and are on route. Around 20:30. Yes, we're bypassing the highway because of last minute shoppers. Sure. Okay. Bye," she says, shutting the phone. "We need to get some stuff. Can you pull over at this exit?" she asks. We end up in front of what looks like a pizza place.

"I'll be a second" she says, getting out and running into the store. She comes out with 4 huge pizzas and what looks to be the longest sub sandwich in existence. "They're hungry. They phoned it in."

"Who's the sandwich for?"

"Daddy. He loves sandwiches like I love pancakes." She says. "They call it the Swan Special" she laughs as we pull off.

That's where she got that appetite from.

"Which house is it?" I ask, pulling into a neighborhood.

"Keep driving" she shakes her head embarrassed. "I'll let you guess."

Shaking my head, I slow the car and make my way down the street.

"Oh…" I say, looking at the only house on the block with Christmas decorations. There has got to be a light for every color on the spectrum- complete with light up Frosty the Snowman on the front yard, Santa and his reindeer on the roof, and a manger in the front yard.

It's a nice house, aside from all of the shit in the front yard.

"You shouldn't be surprised" she said, unbuckling her seatbelt and grabbing my hand. "I know you're nervous. But, you shouldn't be. But, I must warn you. You will be tested mentally, physically and emotionally over these two days… and most likely fondled. Don't be afraid to dish out. Only the strong survive in that house," she pauses to kiss me. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

She kisses me again and heads to the front door while I go get our bags from the car. She opens the door and sets the food down as Captain runs past us to go in the house. The spirit of Christmas is definitely in the air with the sound of Christmas songs.

Bella starts to sing along until she notices nobody is around. "MOOOOOMMMMMYY!…. DAAAAAADDDDDY!…David and Daniel." She shouts. "WE'RE HEEEEERRRRRE!"

"Really?" I hear as a short woman with blonde hair appears at the top of the stairs. She has on a white long sleeve shirt and a long red flowing skirt with flats. Her

outfit goes with Bella's description of her.

"Uh huh" Bella smiles, running from the entry way to the stairs as her mom runs down the steps.

"I can't believe you're here," her mom says, pushing Bella out of the way to hug me, knocking Bella over. Thankfully, she lands on a seat in the entryway.

"Mom!" Bella shouts, as I awkwardly drop the bags to hug her back. "This is bullshit" she says, nonchalantly crossing her arms.

"Don't be like that" her mom laughs. "You know I love you" she says, opening her arms and coming towards Bella. "Merry Christmas Eve!"

"Nope" Bella says, getting up from her chair. "I don't want your sloppy second hug," she says.

"Drama queen" her mom says, pinching Bella's cheeks as Bella blushes. "I'm Renee" she introduces herself. "Bella's mom" she says, patting my back.

"Edward" I laugh, returning her greeting.

"What's that smell?" Bella asks, sniffing around. "It smells good."

"Cinnamon and egg nog incense," her mother answers. "You're so handsome" she laughs, pinching my cheeks with both hands. "You're aura is blue" she says, after appraising me. "That's good because Bella has an orange aura. They're complementary colors. I was nervous about that."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your moment" Bella laughs. "But where's Dad? He'll give me a proper greeting" she says, turning her head dramatically towards Renee.

"Stop hatin', sweetie" she shrugs off her daughter. "Where is that sexy chocolate man?" she asks, looking around. "He's somewhere" Renee's says, taking the food and walking to where I guess is the kitchen. "He needs to come so we can eat. You know, he's probably in the…"

"Get down!" Bella shouts, pushing me the rest of the way into the kitchen as I hear a door open.

All I see is a mass of short brown hair pop out of the hallway closet with tennis balls in his hands. He unloads them both quickly aiming at Bella's head. She quickly swats one out of the way, catches another to throw it back at him, and dodges the other. Then, in an unexpected turn of events, she kicks him. Not a regular kick. The kind where you swoop down and kick your opponents legs out from under them, sending who I guess is one of her brothers to the ground and crouching on the floor beside him. I didn't know she could do that.

Sexy

"You couldn't make it 5 minutes without pissing me off. Could you?" Bella asks, before planting an open-palmed smack down on his chest.

"Fuck!" he cries out, turning her over and putting her in a leg lock.

"Did you just fart on me? You dick!" Bella screams, squirming in his hold. "Anyway," Renee' says, placing the food on the table.

"Don't be worried. That'show they say Hello. I'm not sure where the other twin is" she shakes her head. "They'll be finished in a minute."

Wow

"Can you go out back and get Charlie? It's time for dinner." She says. "He's in the guesthouse out back. The gym is in there." She tells me as she points to it.

By myself?

"Uh…ok" I say, stepping over the still battling siblings to go outside. Here it goes. I find a stone path outside the door and follow the loud music to the guest house. I'm pretty sure I hear Jay Z playing in the background.

I slowly walk into the garage to see Chief turned around, standing up with a weight that was at least 70 pound in each hand, watching ESPN and smoking a cigarette-with no hands…. From what I can see, he has several cut scars on his back. I even see a couple of bullet scars on his back.

He sets one of the weights down and turns off his iPod.

"What?" he asks, turning his head over his shoulder to look at me.

"Dinner?" I say, even though it came out as a question. My voice even cracked.

Bad first impression

"Oh" he says, putting the other weight down to grab a Snickers bar.

He fully turns around and I'm able to get a better look at him. Yep. Still the intimidating force I remember.

No man past the age of 50 needs to be that muscular.

His hair is cut short to his head. I notice that Bella has his brown eyes. They even share the freckles she has on her nose, except his are hidden more as a result of his light brown skin. He has several tattoos, the bigger ones I guess are portraits of his family members.

What the fuck is that on his neck?

"Someone tried to slit my throat. The only thing they did was piss me off. It was a close one." he says, looking at his watch. "You're early."

"Uh huh" I say. Snap out of it. "Hello. It's nice to…"

"Daddy!" Bella screams out of nowhere, wrapping her arms around her father. "I missed you!"

"Bunny!" he says, wrapping his arms around her smiling. "I missed you too. Is everything okay?" he asks, looking over her shoulder at me.

"Yes" she rolls her eyes and kissed his cheek. "In case you haven't introduced yourselves. Daddy, this is Edward. Edward, this is my Daddy." She says, inching us closer to each other.

"Hi, Chief" I say, sticking my hand out. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise" he says, squeezing the fuck out of my hand.

I think I need an x-ray.

"Look!" she says, pointing to a tattoo of a baby girl on Chief's chest. "That's me" she says, giving the same expression as the tattoo.

"Awesome tattoo, Chief."

"You don't have to call him Chief" Bella says, wrapping her arms around me. "He can call me Sir" he deadpans.

"Daddy!" she laughs, smacking his shoulder "He's so funny". He just raises his eyebrow.

I don't think he was joking.

"By the way," she says, snatching his Snickers away and eating the rest of it in one bite. "Mom told me you aren't supposed to have sweets. We have to watch your sugar, Daddy. You don't want to get Diabetes." She says, licking her fingers. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because my mom's name is Anne and my wife's name is Renee'. You didn't make the cut sweetie." He says, patting her head.

"You can't be intimidating with only one leg." She chides, punching his arm. "You need to start eating healthier."

He turns to me and says, "This must be what a conversation between a pot and a kettle sounds like."

"Brick wall" she shakes her head and giggles. "Come on, guys. Dinner." She says grabbing our hands and walking us back to the house.

"So…" she whispers. "How'd it go?"

"He didn't kill me" I say, trying to find a positive side to our first meeting.

"Such a pessimist." She says, putting three slices of pizza on a plate and giving her brother the finger.

"Wait, Edward" Chief says. "Sit right here, where I can see you" he says, pointing to a chair across from Bella.

"Da-ad" Bella whines. "Seriously?"

"Ye-es" he replies, making fun of her whine.

"It's okay" I say, taking a seat. "I understand"

"That whine used to work all the time when I was little" she says, looking at me. "Do you know where" she starts off opening the refrigerator.

" BOOOOOGA BOOOOOGA BOOOOGA!" screams a man who has got to be at least 6'2 as he jumps out of the refrigerator.

"AHHHHH!" Bella screams, running backwards and falling on her ass, causing her brothers to laugh. "You assholes!" she yells, as she gets up.

"Freezing my ass off was sooo worth it" one of the twins says, before giving the other one a high five. His phone starts to ring and he answers it.

"Hey sexy. Happy Holidays. Oh, I hope you have a merry Christmas. Well…maybe. I gotta go. I know." He says, looking awkwardly at us before hanging up.

"How?" she asks, confused.

"I took all of the racks out of the fridge and put them in the garage. Then, when you pulled up, I hid inside. The hallway closet bit was to lure you into a false sense of security," one says, taking a big bite out of his pizza.

"Has it ever been that easy?" the other asks, getting some coffee to warm up and sitting down. "I'm glad you finally opened the door though. I was freezing my nuts off."

Wow. Bella wasn't joking.

"Well played, brothers. Very well played." Bella complements looking between her brothers, sipping some water. "The gauntlet has officially been thrown."

"It has"

"Fair warning. I've been planning the grandmother of all pranks. It will leave you both devastated and give you no choice but to admit my victory. I've been planning it for 5 years. Don't make me use it." She says calmly.

"I don't care how well played it was" Char…Chi…Sir says. "One of you is gonna put that shit back where you found it."

"Cleaning the kitchen, my ass" Renee's says, smacking both twins in the chest.

"I won't be rude." Bella says, walking over. "Edward this is…"

"Wait" one twin says, looking at me. "Spot the gay." He says, pointing between himself and his brother.

Bella was right. They were exactly identical face wise. Not even a mole or a freckle could tell the two apart. They have dark brown hair like Bella's except theirs have no red in it. Instead of Charlie's brown eyes, they have Renee's blue eyes. The only difference is that one's hair is cut close and the other's isn't.

The twin who jumped out the closet has on a brown v neck sweater, blue jeans and timberlands. The one who jumped out of the fridge has on a blue sweater with a white shirt underneath and black slacks. They both look pretty straight.

I have sucky gaydar

"Uh…"

"We're waiting" they say in unison.

"It's not that hard" Bella giggles, looking between me and her brothers.

"This is interesting" Renee' says, eating.

I have no clue how to tell them apart. So, I come up with a plan.

"Uh…" I say, crossing my hands behind my back, riding my shirt up. I know that my abs are showing. Whoever looks first is the gay one I assume. "You?" I ask, pointing to the twin in the blue sweater.

"WHAT?" he asks, shocked. "I'm not gay!"

Oh Shit!

"Hahahahahaha!" Bella bursts out laughing, pointing at her brother as her parents and brother join in.

"I told you those pants make you look gay" the other one said.

"Does not!" the straight one yells. "Why did you think it was me?"

"Yeah?" the other asks, hurt. "I'm the pretty twin."

"We're identical" the straight one, I guessed..wrongly, says, rolling his eyes.

"That's what the ugly twin always says."

"You looked at my…abs" I say, awkwardly.

"Hahahahhahah!" Bella laughs, before getting mad. "You stared at my boyfriend's abs!"

"He has the 'V.' You know that muscle around your pelvis? I've been working out like crazy for the past 2 years. I can't get it." He explains, rolling his eyes. "I'm starting to think I don't have those muscles."

"I thought I was the gay twin" the other laughs, extending his arm. "I'm David. Bella's brother. This is Daniel, the family whore."

"Nice to meet you" Daniel says, waving. "Nice to meet you too" I say.

"By the way, I'm not a whore, like my siblings say," he deadpans. "I just have a friendly penis," Daniel adds with a laugh.

"Spoken like a true whore" Char…Sir… Bella's dad says, taking 1/3 of the sandwich in a whole bite.

Damn.

"It's so nice to finally meet you" Renee' says, starting conversation. "Bella just talks on and on about you."

"It's a little annoying actually" David says.

"Jealous" Bella says blushing.

"Maybe" he says, taking a buffalo wing.

"It's just a little surreal." She says, looking at us before taking a sip of wine.

Bella runs the tip of her toe along the inseam of my pants grazing my cock, causing my hips to jerk slightly against her foot. She takes this as a sign and starts to work me with her foot… at her parents' tabl…

Oh God…so good

"Pizza and wine?" Daniel asks, laughing while throwing a slice of pizza for Captain to eat.

From that point on, I can't eat. I don't even hear what's going on at the table. I'm too focused on Bella's motions. I look out the corner of my eye to see that she looks fairly interested in the table's conversation, until she looks at me. Her eyes are slightly darkened and I can tell she's fight her hardest not to smile by the sly grin that's on her face. I move my hips slightly…almost to where I'm not moving them at all. I weave my fingers together, and rest my head on them, as if I'm saying a prayer.

_Dear God,_

_Please don't let me orgasm in front of Bella's entire family. Bless Bella's feet. Also, please help me…_

"Is everything okay there, Edward?" Chie…Gen…Bella's Dad asks, leaning his head to the side. Bella stops her movements an puts her hand back on her lap.

"Yeah" I say, nodding my head. "I just forgot to say grace before I ate." I add, using all the force I had in me not to sound like I'm on the brink of an orgasm.

"Sorry" Bella mouths and blushes, before stopping. I nod my head, telling her it's okay.

"Pick a finger" Renee's says, holding up the first three fingers on her hand before taking another sip, concluding the conversation I missed out on. "Oh…my Bella has a boyfriend. You had me worried sweetheart." She says. "I thought you were a lesbian."

"Mom!"

"Renee" Charlie spits out some of his Coke.

"What?" she asks, taking another bite. " You had this whole, ' boys don't like me' thing you kept saying. I mean, I just thought she might have developed a taste for tacos instead of hotdogs."

"Mom!" Bella says, shaking her head as the twins start to laugh.

"It happens in Hollywood all the time. We wouldn't care anyway" she says, holding David's hand. "There are no closets in this house" she says, in a sincere voice. "metaphorically speaking, of course. I mean, it would be weird if a real house didn't have any closets," she finishes, staring off into space like she was in deep thought.

"Thanks for that" Bella touches her heart. "Even though I thoroughly enjoy… Stop stealing my chicken wings!" she shouts, before punching David in the arm.

"No, I'm not" he says, taking a bite of the wing in question.

"Yes you did" she argues, taking his cup of ranch and spilling it over.

"What am I going to dip this in now?" he asks, annoyed as a smiling Daniel nonchalantly takes a buffalo wing off of a distracted Bella's plate and starts to eat it.

"You should have thought of that before you stole" she says. "You're so annoying" she says.

"Did I take her wing?" David asks me, causing the three Swan children to look at me in silence. Daniel gives me the 'Don't you dare tell' face, while Bella gives me the

'You better back me up' face.

"Uh…"

"What de Gwan!" I hear a thick Jamaican accent shriek in the kitchen. "What are these doin in here, eh? You know I'm old. I can't be trippin for such shit. Me almost lost my life to a fuckhin tennis ball" she says, kicking it out of the way.

"Gran!" Bella says, getting up from the table to hug her grandmother. "I miss your crazy self."

"Of course you do" she says, kissing her cheek. "What's not to miss?" she says walking to the side of the table where Renee and Charlie are.

"What de Gwan you two? Me told you I cook dinner fa dem" pointing to me and Bella. "I see here all types of shit. Pizza….sandwiches… buffalo wings. You mean to tell me that me slave away all day for not? On me day off?" she asks, putting a large silver serving container on the table.

"CUPCAKES!" Bella, Daniel and Chief shout, lunging for the silver container.

"No" the annoyed woman says.

A collective 'hmph' is hear around the table.

Did Chief just pout?

The woman. The legend. The infamous GranAnne. By looking at her, she doesn't fit the stereotypical grandmother with a cane who looks old and rickety. She doesn't look older than 60.

"Sorry, Mommy" Chief says, looking down at his plate. It's weird to see Chief looking scared of someone. "We didn't know what time you'd be here and the kids were hungry."

"Sure" Daniel says. "Blame you're _adult_ children."

"Wanna know why I was late? I was driving around for forty-five minutes trying find some reasonable gas," she says, shaking her head. She turns to face the rest of the table. "Why in the fuhk is gas $3.55 a fuchkin gallon? Iswear, I bought the last 10 gallons of gas. Why in the fuchk is gas so damn high? Then, a bum came to me wit da nerve to ask me for change. I said, 'Look at that gas pump. Do me look like I got some fuckhing change for you?' Shit, me should have asked him for some change. I was dis close to stealing his porn n bean can. I was!"

This of course, caused all of us to burst out laughing. Some water shot out of Renee's nose. Bella just shook her head and mouthed, "See."

"$65 dollars for a full tank."

"Sorry ma" Charlie rolls his eyes and hugging his mother.

"Eh" she replies, opening the fridge to put the food in there. "I don't belie…Who did this to the fridge?" she asks, looking directly at her grandchildren.

Daniel pointed at David. David pointed at Bella. Bella used both hands to point to Daniel and David.

Smart girl

"Why you do that?" Gran asks, her accent peaking though. "You no have anything important to do. They must be bored, eh? Me give you something to do. You, go to my car and get the rest of da food and bring it to me. You, fix this shit" she says, pointing to the fridge. "You, clean the table," she says to Bella.

"I didn't even do…"

"You done something wrong since you've been here." Gran says, placing her hand on her hip.

Bella starts to clean the table.

"Hey!" Gran says to me, engulfing me in a hug. "I'm Gran. Bella's grandma. Call me Gran."

"Okay" I say, hugging her back.

"Every time I look at you I get so fucking proud of my granddaughter. " she says, flicking my nose playfully. "You can wash dishes."

Damn!

Bella was right. She really doesn't give a fuck.

We each work completing our tasks until Gran is finished eating. She compliments us on our work.

"Gran!" Bella asks, shocked. "What happened to your ankle?" David starts to giggle.

"Oh, I sprained it playing tennis."

"On PS3 " David adds, before his giggles turn into laughs.

"Huh?" I ask, giggling.

"I know." Gran says, looking around the room. "The doctor I went to didn't know shit."

"Maybe because you came to my office and I'm a gynecologist… not an orthopedist. What did you expect me to do?" David asks, rolling his eyes.

"Not laugh" Gran replies, looking at him like he's dumb for not knowing the answer.

"You're a gynecologist?" I ask.

"The irony is not lost on me either" Daniel says. "He's knee deep in poon all day and is not attracted to any of it" he shakes his head. "It baffles me."

"I wasn't lucky to find my professional and social calling in my job" David retorts. "Daniel is a lawyer. That way, he can screw people in _and_ out of the bedroom."

Everyone laughs at that point.

"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel lucky or offended" Daniel says, eating some ice cream.

"You want some ice cream, Bunny?" Bella's dad asks her, ruffling her hair.

"I'm okay" she says, sitting in my lap. "I'll get some later." As soon as she sits down, he huffs, rolls his eyes and goes in the kitchen just as Captain runs to his side.

Fuck! Two against one.

"How has everyone been?" Bella asks, snuggling into me. They reply with a chorus of 'okay' and 'good'.

"Your father got back from an assignment last night. I was so worried he wouldn't make it back in time for your visit," Renee' says, running her hand over Charlie's arm that had her name tattooed on it.

"I've been doing this for 25 plus years. I practically let the younger guys do it. They only call me in when the situation is dire anyway," Chief rolls his eyes before kissing Rennee'. "Think of me as a… supervisor."

"Bella says you work with the government right?" I ask.

"Yeah" he says after he thinks a minute.

"That sounds very interesting," I compliment.

A little ass kissing never hurt anybody.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Bella asks.

"He didn't think it was important" David says.

"We didn't find out until this morning," Daniel adds. "What was it about?"

"They brought in a potential hostile who was believed to be withholding pertinent information. They sent a team to investigate. They needed an extractor."

"What's an extractor?" I ask, genuinely interested. It sounded really cool.

"It's someone who is hired to extract information out of people. Think of it like an _extreme_ interrogator," he says, taking a bite of his ice cream.

"Where were you?" Bella asks.

"He was in Guadal….Guadalupe'…." Renee' tries to guess.

"Guantanamo Bay" Chief answers for her, wiping his mouth off. This tidbit sent my brain into overdrive. Then, it hit me.

Don't they torture people in Guantanamo Bay?"

SHIT!

As is he could read my mind, I swear I saw Chief smirk in my direction.

"I was there 12 hours tops. Then they sent me home. I wasn't going to miss Christmas with my Bunny" he says, smiling at his daughter.

"Why do you call her Bunny?" I ask, trying to lift tension. All the color drains from Bella's face and the twins start to laugh. Renee' joins too.

"When Bella was a little girl, around 2 or 3, she wanted a dog. We didn't want a pet that could shit in the house. So, after months of begging and crying, we agreed that as long as it could be kept in a cage, she could keep it." Renee' starts.

"One day, Charlie and I came home from our night out. Bella comes to meet me at the door. She's like, 'Mommy I found a pet when I was walking home. I found a bunny!" she adds. "She was so proud of herself, marching with her chest out over to this box that she cut holes in so it could breath and we looked in the box."

"Here we go" Bella rolls her eyes.

"And it was this GIGANTIC rat in there. Charlie had to get rid of it because I was screaming so loud," she takes a break to breath. "Of course, Bella started crying and we had to explain to her that it wasn't a bunny. Then, she started crying _again_ because she found out she touched a rat."

At this point, everyone, except Bella, was laughing hysterically.

"That's not funny." Bella says, pouting. "It was traumatizing. I had to get shots and everything. It was horrible."

"It was cute," Renee' counters. "In a disgusting, bizarre kind of way. You were so cute when you were a baby" she says, blowing a raspberry in Bella's check.

"Yeah. What happened?" David asks, laughing.

"Pick a finger" Bella says, mimicking her mother's previous gesture.

"She was a natural a pageants too. She rarely even practiced," she says. As soon as the word pageant is mentioned, I feel Bella's body stiffen.

JACKPOT!

For what seems like forever, I've been trying to figure out what Bella's pageant talent was. She won't budge. I think I have a shot at figuring out this mystery. It can't be that bad.

"Yeah" I start out, looking at Bella as she pace palms herself. She knows I'm about to ask. "Bella told me she was in pageants when she was a kid."

"Uhmmm" Bella hums awkwardly. "I…dabbled in the pageant world." The sentence alone makes the twin start to chuckle.

"Dabbled?" Renee' asks, dramatically putting a hand over her heart. "She told you that she…dabbled?" she asks me this time. I nod my head. "Bella did not dabble. She dominated. She was the bitch to beat. When she walked in, the other girls would reek of jealousy and fear. She ALWAYS placed. She won Grand Supreme, the highest award in a pageant, on SEVEN separate occasions- one when she was only 7 weeks old-a FIRST in the history of the state of Georgia. She was…"

"Mom…" Bella starts, blushing.

"She was Ms. Teen Georgia 1998. She was only 16."

"Really?" I asked, shocked. "I didn't know that." I say, looking at Bella, whose face is still in her hands.

To be honest, the whole idea of Bella with cap teeth and a spray tan is pretty amusing.

"Yeah" Bella admits. "I had to come back here one Summer after we moved to Forks to pass the crown over."

"Come on" Renee' says, heading upstairs. "I wanna show you something."

"Mom" Bella hops up behind her. "Do you still have..."

"Yep"

"We don't have to do this" she bargains racing upstairs behind her.

Renee' opens a door and I feel like I've stepped into an alternate universe. This shit brings parent pride to a whole other level. Renee' has an entire room in the house dedicated to her children's achievements.

There are Daniel's baseball and track medals and trophies followed by articles of high profile cases that he's won in court.

David is some sort of genius because there are several academic awards from various school and universities. He even delivered a set of quintuplets a couple of years ago.

Then there's Bella

Three rows, ranging from smallest to biggest, are dedicated to the crowns Bella has won and hangers for various sashes. Also, there are various pictures of her in ball gowns wearing various crowns doing the Barbie wave. Then, there is an autographed picture of the cast of Halfsies on the wall next to it.

"She could have been Mrs. Universe" Renee's says in a far off voice, gesturing to the Wall of Bella.

"Do you know where Bella's middle name comes from?" Daniel asks, laughing. "Dan- shut the fuck up!" Bella warns, smacking him in the throat.

"Oh God" Gran huffs.

"America" David finishes. "Marie. America. Get it?" he asks, laughing as Bella blushes.

"Seriously?" I laugh, joining him.

"Bella's mom wanted to name her America." Chief pipes in the room. "I love my wife and my country," he starts, motioning to his scars. "But that shit was not gonna fly."

"Thank you, Daddy" Bella says, hugging him. "For saving my self-esteem before I was even born."

"Anytime" he says, kissing her forehead.

"There was no way I was gonna let you name my granddaughter that stupid-ass name" Gran says.

"I thought it was cute." Renee' defends her choice. "Miss America? That would have been a cute nickname."

"I bet you don't know her talent either" David asks.

"Actually, I don't" I say, turning to Renee'.

"Bella didn't tell you about…"

"NO!" Bella shouts, throwing her body in front of the closet. "I don't want him to find out like this."

Daniel and David slowly march toward her in an effort to move her.

"Are you two ready to challenge me?" she asks, straightening her stance in front of the closet. "You'll get to this closet over my dead body."

"You move her. I'll open the closet." Daniel says, David reaches to grab Bella. "Fuck!" he says, as Bella pokes him in the throat before kicking his knee out, sending him to the floor. David makes a move to open the closet. She pinches his wrist, causing him to cradle it in pain before putting said hand behind his back.

She really is lethal

"Bella, let your brothers go" Chief comes in, settling the dispute. I can tell he's trying not to laugh.

"No!" she says.

"There wasn't a question mark on the end of that sentence, Bunny" he says, raising his eyebrow.

"Okay" she mumbles, letting her brothers go.

"It can't be that bad, sweetie." I laugh, hugging her.

"Yes, it can" the twins say, before Bella kicks one of them.

"It's so…dorky" she say, blushing.

"It'll be great because you're doing it" I whisper in her ear, causing her to smile.

"He's goo" one twin starts before Bella kicks him. "Ow!"

"Please?" I ask her, looking into her eyes. I feel her trying to not smile or give in. "Pleeeeaaaase?" I ask again. "You know my Santa story." I remind her in a sing song voice. She looks around the room, trying not to meet my gaze.

"Bel-la" Renee' says, smiling at us. "They're so cute" I hear her try to whisper. Curiosity gets the best of me and I peek out the corner of my eye at Charlie who is squinting his eyes at me with his arms folded over his chest- with Captain at his side. He catches me staring at raises an eyebrow.

Curiosity did kill the cat

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase?" I ask. This time I pull out the green-eyed pout that I used on my mom when I was a kid. I haven't used it since I was 9.

I'm desperate here.

"Fine" Bella says, causing a resounding "Yay!" to engulf the room. "But" she adds, turning my face back to hers. "You have to promise me something."

"Anything."

"Promise me that you'll still think I'm awesome… and badass when I show you. Okay?"

"Of course. I'll even throw in a promise to still love you." I say before kissing her. The kiss wasn't too crazy. I'm not an idiot. A deep cough interrupts our kiss.

I'll give you two guesses as to who coughed.

"Okay" Bella says, pumping herself up. She puts her hand on the door. As she turns the knob, I hear a soft thud come from inside the closet. "I CAN'T!" she screams. "Not tonight. Not in front of everybody" she reasons. "I'll tell you tomorrow. Bright and early. Alone. I promise" she says, hugging me like I'll protect her. "I need time to mentally prepare for it. It's so…embarrassing." She says, looking up at me.

"Deal" I say, shaking her hand. "Tomorrow morning" I say, gloating.

"Alright!" Chief says, clapping his hands. "Time for bed."

"Are you giving your 29 year old daughter a bed time?"

"I'm telling my young children that their old parents, father in particular, is tired" he says yawning.

After that, the twin each went home followed by Gran and Charlie showed us to our room.

"Bella gets to sleep in her room" he says, ushering her into her room. From what I can tell, there is a lot of purple. "You" he says, stopping me mid-stride, "will sleep in this room… right next to mine and Renee's."

"Daddy" Bella says, coming down the hall. "Can me and Edward sha.."

"No"

"Daniel got to have lady sleepovers all the time," Bella reminds him.

"Daniel didn't do any sleeping" he says, slowly turning to look at me. "You just proved my point."

"This isn't fair."

Chief laughs. "This isn't fair? Thank your mother. I wanted him to sleep in the guesthouse."

"It's okay" I start.

"Seriously?" she asks, stomping her foot.

"Uh huh" he says. "We're a Southern family…with Southern values."

"Is this about my non-existent virtue?" she asks, rolling her eyes.

Every muscle in Chief's face tightens and he stares at me, while he shakes his head very slowly.

Shit. She just admitted to Charlie that we've already had sex

"I'm fine with…"

"Nothing holy happens after 10:00 and it definitely won't be happening under my roof" he says. "Goodnight," he adds, ending the conversation.

"Uhhhh" Bella shrieks, stomping her way back to her room.

"I'm sorry, sweetie" I hear Renee's say from her and Chief's bedroom. "It's the best I could do."

"This is your room," he says, flicking the light on. It was a very spacious suite with light blue walls. The bed looked comfortable. I sat down on it. It wasn't.

This must be what Fred Flinstone's bed felt like.

Chief smiles a mischievous smile that could rival the Grinch. "There is a bathroom, a t.v., a mini fridge with snacks and beverages. So… there really isn't _any_ reason to leave your room. Except in case of a fire. But, in that case, you can just jump out the window. It wouldn't hurt. That bad," he smiles before shutting the lights off. "Good night" he deadpans before closing the door.

Wow.

**A/N**

**I hope I haven't disappointed.**

**Can you guess what Bella's talent is? If you guess right I'll give you a teaser for next chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I own nothing!**

**Mistakes are mine. **

**Ch. 32**

I let the abruptness of the goodbye wash over me. Afterwards, I brush my teeth and try my best to get comfortable on the bed and shut my eyes.

"Bella, go back to your room!" I hear Chief yell, as I see the shadow of Bella's slippers stomp her way from my door.

"This is bullshit!" she says, making her way back to her room. "Nice try, though" Renee' says sincerely.

I laugh at my Bambi's bravery. She actually thought she'd make it. I take my phone off the night stand and call her.

"I'm sorry, baby" she apologizes when she answers her phone. "My dad is being an asshole."

"It's okay" I say, laughing at her anger. I bet her eyes are all squinty and she's pursing her lips out like she does when she's mad. She's so cute when she does that. "I'm fine."

"No, it's not okay" she fumes on the phone. "My brother had a fucking harem in high school in his room. But, I can't have my boyfriend in my room?" she question. "it's such a double standard. We're too old for this shit!"

"It's cool" I say, trying to calm her down. "I'm gonna be the same way when I get older."

"No, you're not!" she interrupts. "You will not humiliate our daughter like that" she says. "I- I mean, if we ever…you know… But, you can't do that" she backtracks, I

can feel the heat of her cheeks through the walls.

She's thought of having children with me?

I couldn't help but smile at the thought that we were on the same page in our relationship. I want tons of children with Bella.

Not tons, but you get what I'm saying.

"I understand" I say softly, staring the the wall in my bed.

"It's just…" she says lowly, "I haven't gotten to spend any one on one time with you in an entire month. I miss falling asleep next to you and waking up in your arms."

"It's my favorite part of the day" I tell her, rubbing the spot next to me, wishing she'd magically appear.

"That's all I wanted" she says, to feel your arms around me. "That and a little base action."

"Really?" I ask, giggling. "Another tender moment ruined by your sexual innuendos."

"Whatever" she laughs lightly. "Like I said, an entire month. I just…miss you." She says.

"I miss you too." I say into the phone. "It'll fly by." I say.

"I'll make it up to you" she breaths into the phone.

"Promise?"

"Oh yeah" she giggles, before yawning.

"You should get some sleep." I tell her, looking at the clock to see that it's 2 in the morning. "It'd pass your bedtime."

"No" she says, yawning again. "I want to talk to you."

"Bambi, you flew a combined total of 16 hours today. Then, you add the time difference. You're jetlagged. It's okay to be tired."

"But I wanna talk to you" she whines and yawns at the same time. "Talk to me until I fall asleep."

Before I could start the second verse, I could hear the sound of her even breathing on the other end of the phone.

"I love you" I say, before hanging up and going to bed.

The next time I open my eyes, I look to the clock to see that it's 11 in the morning. I quickly jump in the shower and put on a simple red shirt and jeans.

I look myself in the mirror to give myself a pep talk.

"Okay, Edward. Today is a new day. It's Christmas…the time of giving. He can't be mean…as mean… on Christmas. You're gonna ask him. He'll say yes. Then, you can relax and laugh about it later." I say, leaving my room

He's gonna kill me

I head downstairs to hear Bella and Daniel in the middle of a heated argument. "Merry Christmas!" I say, waving to everyone.

"You're a fucking idiot" Bella says, scooping some eggs onto her plate. "Merry Christmas, baby" she says, coming over to give me a kiss. I look at her shirt and see that it says, 'Go Jesus, it's your birthday!' on it with Jesus doing the cabbage patch.

"Please" he scoffs. "You're the one that's full of shit" he replies, sipping from his orange juice.

"I just can't understand you're reasoning on this subject. It is so clear who the superior one of the two is" Bella tells her brother shaking her head.

This starts another round of arguments over this mystery subject as I laugh at Bella's tenacity as I make myself a plate.

"Why are you two still arguing over this?" Chief asks. "You've disagreed since you were children" he says, before directing me to the seat next to him with his fork.

Damn. I thought he forgot

"Not until he sees the stupidity of his ways" Bella says, ruffling Daniel's hair.

"What are you arguing over?" I ask, pouring some juice.

"Your girlfriend thinks Batman is superior to Superman" Daniel says, shaking his head.

"I don't think he's better. I know he's better." Bella retaliates.

"Come on" he says. "Superman has x ray and heat vision, super speed, super strength, and he can fly" he says, throwing his hands in the air.

"Exactly." Bella rolls her eyes. "If I had awesome powers like that, I'd be a superhero too if there was a 98% chance that no one could stand against me. That's like… the only job he can do. What's with his alter ego? Clark Kent is a pussy. Plus, he always fights the one person who has possession of kryptonite- radioactive pieces of an alien planet. That's bullshit!" she says.

"Bruce Wayne is better?" her brother replies. "some playboy who chooses to play with toys all day instead of…I don't know… running his father's empire? 'Ahhh, my parents were murdered.' He's a fucking baby. Superman's entire planet was destroyed and you don't see him complaining all the damn time. Plus, he doesn't have any real powers."

"That's what makes him awesome!" Bella says excitedly. "He does it because he wants to… not because his daddy told him to."

"Well…I'd rather live in Metropolis than Gotham City. That place is a shit hole!" "What do you think Edward?"

"Uh…"

"SHUT UP!" Renee' says. "Neither of you will back down. Agree to disagree and get over it."

"I've been hearing this exact same conversation for the past 20 years." Gran huffs.

"They're still arguing?" David sits down, stealing a piece of Bella's bacon.

"Stop stealing my food!" she screams, breaking off the rest of her piece from his mouth and eating it. "Get your own plate."

"But, I'm comfortable" he says, eating a bite of her eggs. "Ouch!" he says, after she punches his arm.

"How was your sleep, baby?" Bella asks me, taking a bite of eggs.

"It was good" I lie, rubbing my back subconsciously thinking about that rock mattress.

Did Chief laugh?

"Doesn't Bell…" Daniel starts before his phone goes off.

_She A Very Freaky Girl Don't Bring Her To Mamma_

"Great" Renee' scoffs. "Now, I'm gonna have that song in my head all day." "Uhh…" Bella rolls her eyes as David laughs and shakes his head.

"Hey, baby" Daniel says, answering the phone. "Merry Christmas... I know… I was thinking about you too…" he says, rolling his eyes and eating his toast. "I'm with my fam... My sister is visiting with her boyfriend. He's okay….Yep….uh-huh…nuh-uh….What? Uh… I'm not… but…" he says, closing his phone and shaking his head.

"Something wrong?" I ask. "You look worried." I say.

He thinks for a second then smiles. "Everything is fine."

"That's the fourth call he's gotten from his girlfriends" Bella says. "You're disgusting."

"Don't you have something to show Edward?" he asks smiling. "Yes, you do" I say smiling. "How's about that talent?" I ask.

"Damn" she whispers to herself. "I was hoping you missed that. How about…"

"Not a chance." I interrupt giggling. "Come on. Let's get it over with. It can't be that bad." I say, coming over to her chair.

"We can always show him" David says, getting out of his chair.

"Fine!" she mumbles, as I scoot her chair out for her. "Can you go to the guesthouse?" she mumbles. "I have to… prepare" she says, as Daniel and David high five. "I'm not even sure if I can do it anymore. It's been like 12 years."

"Okay" I say, as she escorts outside. "You aren't gonna lock me in here are you?"

"I'd nev…okay I'd never do that to you" she laughs. "I'll be back."

She thought about it

I sit on the hood of the couch in the garage and wait for her to get back and think of the possibilities.

Ribbons? Batons?

Rhythmic dancing? Tap dancing?

What could it be?

I hear the sound of something hitting the ground outside by the door.

"Don't come out to help" she says from outside. "I got it" she says, as I hear things moving around.

"Are you stalling?"

"….no" she says, slowly after a short pause.

She comes in wearing a costume. It's a fitted tuxedo shirt that comes to her knees. It kinda fits her like a dress. Over the shirt, it's a tuxedo jacket with duck tails. Then, she has on a little top hat. The last thing I notice are these sexy black pumps as she walks in the room.

Damn

"Okay" she huffs, crossing her arms. "I'm ready. BUT…" she pauses. "Let me start off by saying that the only reason why I even won pageants was because of my sheer ability to do something so stupid with a straight face."

"Yeah yeah" I wave off, giddy. "Now, show me."

"Remember what you said yesterday" she reminds me, shaking her head before face palming herself.

"I do" I say, standing up to hug her. "I promise to still think you're the most badass, sexiest, coolest, most beautiful woman on the Earth after I find out what your talent is-no matter how awful it may be. I also promise to love you afterwards." I say, placing my hand over my heart.

"You better" she says, kissing me before pushing me back on the couch. "Close your eyes" she orders.

"Are you gonna…"

"No" she scoffs, as I hear here leave the room. "I had to get something."

I hear the sound of a chair being pulled and her sitting down. She takes several deep breaths.

"Okay. Open your eyes" she says. I obey.

"Hello" I hear a childish voice say. "My name is Addie" I hear the voice say again. "What's your name?"

The thing is… Bella isn't moving her lips. It wasn't until I noticed the doll on

Bella's right knee with the same outfit on, that I put everything together.

Oh my God!

"Edward, Addie asked you a question." Bella scolds me, with her lips moving this time.

"I sure did" the childish voice says. "It's rude to keep people waiting" the voice finishes as both heads turn to look at me, except Addie's eyes are squinting at me.

Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh.

"Edward…." Bella says.

"Bella," the doll says, looking at her. "I find Edward, who I assume is your friend since he still hasn't introduced himself to be verrrry rude" she says rolling her doll eyes. "I don't know you. But I don't think I like you very much" she finishes, turning her head away from me before crossing her arms.

Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh.

"M-M-M-My n-n-name is E-Edwar…"

"Goddamn it!" Bella gripes, before standing up and throwing the doll on the floor as I burst out in laughter.

It was like I was possessed. I couldn't stop. Soon, my sides to hurt and my vision started to blur.

"Shut up!" she hisses, blushing. "You promised you wouldn't laugh."

"W-when did we m-make that agreement?" I ask, wiping my eyes. How is this not on YouTube?

"I'm going back in the house" she says.

"No, you're not" I tell her pulling her down on the couch with me. "I'm sorry" I add, placing kisses wherever I could reach.

"Bullshit" she reacts, kissing me with just as much fervor.

"No bullshit" I say, rubbing my hands down her sides. "A ventriloquist doll?" I ask, genuinely curious, continuing to kiss her

"I needed a talent" she shrugs. "I couldn't do anything that required rhythm or balance because I'm so damn clumsy" she giggles softly as she throws her leg over mine to get on top of me. "My mom brought Addie home one day and I took to it. I actually thought it was cool until the 4th grade" she says, running her fingers through my hair to deepen the kiss. We lay on the couch making out for what seems like forever.

"I love you" I whisper, reaching my hands under her shirt to palm her ass, causing her hips to roll against mine.

Fuck, she's wet

"I love you too" she smiles, taking my shirt off before throwing it next to the couch. "Edward?"

"Yes?" I ask, grinding against her with my hands finding their way to her breasts.

"I locked the door when I came back in here" she grins against my mouth.

"Did you now?" I ask as I unbutton her shirt to reveal her dark purple lace lingerie

"Uh huh" she says, before I remove her bra to take in the sight of her bare chest. I take the opportunity to run my hand over the generous mounds, reveling in the weight of them in my hands.

"Damn" she whispers, arching her back as I take an erect peak into my mouth while tweaking the other.

"Fuck, I love your color here" I say, switching my ministrations, taking the other peak into my mouth.

I missed this

"I missed this" she breaths, bringing her lips back to mine. "I missed you" she adds, trailing her hands down to palm my cock, before kissing her way down my stomach.

"Mhm" I moan as she kisses further down and starts to lick the lines of my abs. When she makes her way to my belt buckle, she stands on her feet. I scoot to the edge of the couch to hook my fingers through her panties, dragging them down to leave her bare before me- with the exception of those pumps.

I look at my Bambi in awe, taking in just how lucky I am. I take in her swollen lips, her chocolate eyes, her supple breasts, small waist, toned stomach, womanly hips,

all the way down to the smell of her arousal thanking God that somehow she chose me.

"Damn" I whisper, guiding my hand to her hip and pulling her closer.

She leans over, kissing me with a new sense of urgency pouring from both of us with our tongues moving together, fighting to stay connected as our bodies mine each other for any sort of contact.

"Oh, Edward" she moans, pulling my jeans off along with my boxers. I see her smile as she notices my cock spring out eager for her attention. She slowly gets on her knees, as she starts to stroke me.

"Fuuuuck" I moan closing my eyes, focusing on her movements, as I try not to cum quickly like a 12 year old as I feel her tongue lick the underside of my cock, swirling her tongue around the tip before sucking the head into her mouth. "Shit" I shriek, while she licks me down and sucks me up, going further and further down each pass before I feel the tip of my cock touch the back of her throat.

"God!" I hiss, as she takes what she can't fit into her mouth and starts to message with her hand.

At this moment, I can't think. I can't see. I'm pretty sure that every sense except feel has shut down. I find the energy to open my eyes to see my Bambi's big hooded brown eyes staring at me. The sight of my cock sliding in and out of her mouth and those plump lips almost sent me over the edge. But, I couldn't cum. Not yet. She takes her other hand to message my balls as she loves me with her mouth. This sends me closer to the edge.

Shit

I slowly tangle my hand in her hair to message her scalp, needing to feel her. "So good…" I whisper, my eyes rolling back into my head.

"Mmmmmm" she moans, sending vibrations through my entire body, while she begins to work me faster. I don't think I can hold on much longer.

"I'm gonna…" I start before she moans again, causing me to fall over the edge.

"Bella, fuck!" I moan, spilling inside of her as she swallows what I gave her. It wasn't until I fell limp that her mouth left me.

I bring her mouth back to mine, sending us into another frenzy. I move my hand to her center…

"Nuh-uh" she says, grabbing my hand. "That was just for you" she smiles, straddling me on the couch instead.

"Huh?" I ask, confused.

"I told you I'd make it up to you" she says, going in for another kiss.

"But what if I want to…" I start off as Bella's phone starts to buzz.

"Shit!" she yells, jumping off the couch and throwing me my clothes. "We need to go back inside" she says going back to get her regular clothes.

Oh shit! The General!

In the midst of the spectacular blowjob Bella just gave me, I completely forgot where I was.

"I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead" I kept mumbling, as I put my clothes on after I

cleaned up a little bit.

"No, you're not" she says, finding a brush to fix her hair. "Ready?" she asks, checking us over in the mirror.

"I guess" I mumble, following her outside.

Dead man walking

"Act calm" she says, trying to act normal.

"Sit down" Renee says, stirring something as Gran and the twins look at us with big grins on their faces.

"So…" Gran giggles, causing everyone in the room to laugh-except me and Bella. "They're you guys are" Chief says, walking back into the room. "Were you guys

able to find any?"

"Uh…"

"Nope" Renee says. "They got back about 5 minutes ago. They went to like… 3 stores. No cranberry sauce. You think they'd only run out of that stuff on Thanksgiving" she rants. "Huh…." She waves her arms off.

"Oh" he says, walking back into the other room.

Bella and I look around confused until Renee' puts a stray piece of hair behind Bella's ear.

"You're welcome" she says, causing Gran and the twins to laugh.

"Could you two have been any more obvious?" David asks, typing on his computer. "I don't know what…"

"Please" Daniel interrupts. "You want us to believe that you were doing your act for that long?"

"More of like a sexual act" Gran giggles.

"Right now, I'm trying to think of a way to make a sex-centered ventriloquist joke…" David says. "something about not opening your mouth…" he adds, thinking. "I'll come up with it later."

"Oh God" Bella whimpers, blushing. For the first time, I think my face mirrors hers.

"Your dad came in around 30 minutes ago asking 'where in the fuck' you were. I lied and told him that I sent you to look for cranberry sauce." Renee' says, putting something in the fridge.

"She made us move your car down the street and everything" Daniel adds, shaking his head.

"Well…"I start awkwardly. "Thank you." "Yeah" Bella adds. "Thanks"

"We didn't do it for you" Daniel says. "We did it because we didn't want Dad to kill Edward."

"Dad would have gone to jail. Plus, there would be a world with those eyes and abs" David adds, motioning to me. "Right, Daniel?" he asks, after a pause, referring to last night, causing us all to laugh.

"Fuck you guys" he gripes before going to the bathroom. "What are you making?" Bella asks.

"Everything" Renee' huffs. "You guys are gonna eat us out of house and home one day" she says, pointing to the fridge.

"Yay" she says, taking in the contents of the fridge. "Gran… did you make…" "Mhmm" Gran interrupts. "Fudging"

"Fuck yes!" David fist pumps the air. "It really is Christmas." "What's that?" I ask.

"It's this desert that only Gran can make. It's like fudge… but it's pudding at the same time. It's amazing. I've tried to make it like 10 times and it never comes out right."

"I'm taking the recipe to my grave" Gran says.

"She means that shit" Renee' rolls her eyes. "I've been trying for the past 35 years."

"You're so selfish" Bella whispers sitting down.

"Bunny" Chief comes back into the room. He has on a…bullet proof vest and ear protectors. He's holding up another pair.

What the fuck?

"Ok" Bella says, grabbing the gear and my hand. "Can you get Edward a set?" she asks, before heading upstairs.

Chief rolls his eyes. "Meet us outside by the tire swing in the back" he orders and leaves the room.

"Should I be scared?" I ask no one in particular.

"Honestly, he's my own son and I don't know" Gran says, shaking her head. "He's not normally this…"

"Douchey" Daniel says, walking back in the room. "He's just been on the edge the past couple of days."

"They're gonna do their special target practice thing."Renee says, smiling. "They do it whenever she comes home."

"It's a Daddy/Bunny thing" David elaborates.

"He doesn't trust us with guns" Daniel adds, pointing between himself and his brother.

"You should head outside"

I nod my head and see Bella and Chief talking. I walk up to them and put my arms around Bella.

I look to my side and see a table filled with pistols, shotguns and one desert eagle. I see about 4 target places different distances in the trees.

How many guns does he have?

"Alright" he groans slightly, handing me a vest and ear protectors. "It's simple target practice. Each section of the target sheet is worth points. The farther the target, the more points they're worth. You get three shots per target. The person with the most points wins" he explains. "I always let her win. I think it's getting to her head" he adds, looking over at Bella.

"He can't come to grips with his old age" Bella counters, smoothing out her vest. "Since you're the guest, you get to go first" he says, escorting me to the table.

I choose a desert eagle.

"Good choice, baby" Bella shouts from a distance, giving me a thumbs up. I'm not entirely incompetent when it comes to guns. I've had to go through

training on how to use them whenever I work on movies that require action sequences. But, there won't be a redo if I fuck up.

Don't fuck up. Don't fuck up. Don't be a pussy.

I go through the course the course as quickly as accurately as I can. Honestly, I'm scared that with my nerves, I'll end up shooting myself. I think I did decent.

"67 points" Chief says, coming back with the target sheets and hands them to me. "Not bad" he says, nodding his head at me.

Progress

He chooses the desert eagle as well and takes his turn after he changes the clip. His turn went so fast, if you blinked you would have missed it. He goes to get his sheets and he has hit the target on every one or at least the section right around it.

Fuuuuck

"82" Bella says, writing the score down.

"Bullshit. 87" he argues, pointing to a bulls eye.

"It's more in the secondary range than the primary. Stop being a baby" she taunts, heading over to the table. "I'll show you guys how it's done" she says, raising her eyebrow before heading to the table.

She walks around the table, carefully inspecting each of her options. She runs her fingers across the table before settling on a choice.

"That thing is almost as big as she is" I say.

She looks so adorable

"I hear that" she says, loading the pistol. Sexy.

"Yeah" he laughs softly, staring at her. "Don't underestimate her."

I turn my eye to Bella, who takes a step further behind the line.

"Ready, set…go" Chief says and Bella is off.

Oh my God. Bella always joked about how her Dad taught her how to shoot. But, honestly, I didn't think that she would know how to shoot this good. Her hair blows slowly in the wind as she moves from target to target taking her shots. I don't know whether to feel turned on or emasculated that she's such a good shot.

"All done" she announces, resting the gun on her hip as the wind blows faster, swirling leaves all around her as she walks slowly back to the table.

Turned on it is then

"Something in your eye Cullen?" Chief asks me, raising his eyebrow at me.

"No, sir" I say.

Chief grunts at me and goes to take her sheets down. "Wow" I say, looking at hers.

"What's that about letting me win?" she gloats, pointing to the fact that the center of her sheets are completely gone.

But…damn.

"90" Chief says, ruffling her hair in pride. "My protégé" he compliments as she giggles and blushes.

"Guys!" Renee says from the back porch. "I'm sleepy. It's time for my nap" she yawns. "The twins are already sleep. I need someone to watch the food" she adds.

That's where the nap gene comes from

"I'll be right up" Bella says, taking off her hear and handing it to me. "I can take care of the food for the next couple of hours" she says. "You two should go do something…bond…get to know each other" she adds, pushing us closer together before walking back inside.

As she disappears inside, Charlie huffs and goes to put the guns back in their cases. I follow his lead.

"Bella is a really good shot" I say, putting my finger through the space in the bullseye.

"Mhmm" he says, starting to place a pistol in its box. We sit there in an awkward silence as he puts most of the guns away. I tried to help, but he gave me the 'fuck off' look so I stopped trying.

"I hope that I'm as close with my daughter as you and Bella are" I say honestly, by looking at them, you can tell that they just… get each other. Chief is obviously Bella's favorite parent.

He nods his head, after what looks like a brief thought. "Okay" he says, making his way towards the house.

"Sir" I say sternly, causing him to stop in his tracks.

I jog slightly to stand beside him. Within the last 10 seconds, I found my nerve to ask him the question I'd been dying to for the past 2 days.

It's now or never

"I love your daughter" I tell him, looking straight in his eye as he nods his head. "I have for a long time… and… I want… to spend the rest of my life with her…" I confess, praying that he can't sense the fear radiating off of me. "and I'd like to know what…you think of that." I finish, letting out a breath that it was finally out in the open.

Chief begins to scratch the side of his head, shuts his eyes closed, and takes a deep breath. Then, he opens his eyes…and walks back inside.

Did he just say no?

I always imagined that the reception to that question would end differently. I never thought in a million years that a man would actually say no. I walk back into the house with a feeling of defeat washing over me.

"You alright?" Bella asks, walking over to me. "You don't look so well" she adds, checking my forehead. "Are you tired?" she asks. "Hungry? I can make you a snack" she says, wrapping her arms around my neck before placing a kiss on my lips.

"I'm okay" I say, trying to act normal as she fills a bowl of water and places one of

Daniel and David's hand in the bowl before giggling.

"You sure?" she asks, giving the 'I think you're full of shit' look. Then, her face drops and she comes over to hug me again. "I'm sorry" she whispers. "Remember the shell. He's warming up to you. You may not be able to tell. But, he is" she finishes, kissing the spot below my ear.

I basked in her presence, inhaling her scent. I needed a little reinforcement after the recent blow.

"I love you" I say, running my finger along her cheek before I kiss her.

"I love you too" she whispers softly in my ear. "Nothing or no one- not even my uncharacteristically mean father- will change that" she finishes kissing me again. "Now, scoot!" she orders. "Dinner will be ready around 5"

I go in the living room to find Gran sleeping on the love seat and Chief sitting in a chair flipping the channels with one hand and eating a king sized Twix bar with the other.

He's not supposed to have those

"Not. A. Word" he says, before taking another bite and flipping the channel.

"Bella!"

"Damn it!"

I hear the twins scream and Bella burst out laughing in the kitchen as the twins march upstairs covering the front of their pants. They come back down stairs with pajama pants on before putting their pants in the washing machine.

"Not cool" Daniel says, sitting on the couch.

"Very cool" Bella replies before going back in the kitchen.

"I can't believe she got us with the bowl of water trick" David says to his brother, shaking his head. "We're slipping."

Chief grunted, effectively ending the conversation.

Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click

The only sound to be heard in the living room was the sound of Chief changing the channel on the t.v. He looked very deep in thought as he pressed the button on the remote changing the channel.

The next hour is spent the exact same way, until Bella comes back into the room. "Dinner is ready" she says, causing the twins to race to the kitchen.

"I'll get your mother" Chief says, making his way upstairs awkward. I wake Gran up and escort her to the table.

"Such a gentleman" she says, as I scoot her chair out for her. "Good job with this one Bella" she says to her granddaughter, causing Bella to blush.

"Thanks, sweetie" Renee' says, kissing her daughter in gratitude.

"You're welcome" she says, sitting down.

Chicken, ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese… the list goes on and on. Renee' must have bought an entire grocery store to make this meal.

After everyone took their seat, and Chief directed me next to him-again, we said grace and started to make our plates.

"So, Edward" David grins. "How was your first meeting with Addie?" he asks, laughing.

"Shut up!" Bella says, blushing.

"It was…interesting" I admit, not laughing this time-even though I wanted to.

A ventriloquist dummy?

"God" Bella mumbles, shaking her head.

"I was so fuckhing happy when she outgrew that doll" Gran states, laughing. "She treated it like a real person when she was little."

"Gran!" Bella yells, choking on a piece of ham. She washes it down with a big gulp of wine.

"She did" Renee' starts. "We always had to have a plate at the table for Addie" she giggles, sipping on her wine.

"Mommy, Addie is allergic to shellfish" Daniel adds, in his kid Bella voice. "Daddy, you only got three happy meals" David starts in his Bella voice. "What's

Addie gonna eat? I love her but I won't share my fries with her."

"Can Addie come to school with me?" Gran joins in. "I don't want her to be illiterate" she adds before bursting out laughing.

Did wine shoot out her nose?

"I don't know how many times I threw that doll away" Daniel admits, laughing. "I knew it was you!" Bella says, pointing her finger at her brother.

"She'd go to Charlie all distraught" Renee' says laughing and taking a sip of her wine. "D-D-Daaaaaady" she starts making fun of Bella. "Addie r-r-an a-w-w-way. I looked all over and I can't f-f-find her" she adds, acting hysterical before laughing and taking a final gulp of her wine. She pours herself another glass.

Bella blushes… and drinks.

"Then, Daddy would go and find her" Bella says, smiling at her father. He smiled back.

"In the dumpster" Gran giggles, following in Renee's footsteps and pouring herself a glass of wine.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Bella asks, pouring herself another glass of wine.

"How'd you two meet?" Renee' asks, her eyes starting to glass over. She's another glass away from being drunk.

"First day of junior year" I start smiling at her. "She almost fell" I giggle at the memory. "But…she recovered beautifully"

"I used my comedic prowess…and a Kelly Strug joke" she adds, smiling back at me.

"I remember that" David asks. "She told us all about that and the events of Forks High…" he adds, taking a mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"and her stalker" Daniel adds, stealing a sip of Bella's wine.

Stalker?

"I didn't have a stalker!" she yells to her brother. "I didn't have a stalker" she says, calmly aiming that sentence towards me.

"Yeah. You did" her brother affirms. "She told us one that she had a feeling that she was being watched" he says to me, like he's whispering. "That's the definition of stalking."

"I never said all the time" she admits."Just… maybe in class… or… in the lunch line… or… detention… or… walking to my car…" she starts. "I just felt like someone was watching me. I never felt weirded out."

Shit!

I may or may not have gazed upon Bella's beauty when she wasn't looking. I might have taken a picture or four… might have. But, I wouldn't call myself a stalker. Not per se.

Now, one time around Homecoming senior year after Bella got disqualified for Homecoming Queen. I parked my car outside her house. In my defense, it wasn't so I could watch her through her window or watch her sleep or some really crazy shit like that. I was just gathering the courage to walk to her door and ask her to be my date. Then, her dad came outside with a gun and I burned rubber out of there.

That was a low point

"What about those notes in your locker?" David asks.

What? I didn't put any notes in her locker. Who did that?

"Or that necklace?" David asks.

Oh dear

My throat closes up at that point as I begin to choke on a piece of roast beef. I quickly regain my composure.

"Hey! I thought that was sweet!" Bella confesses. "In a weird way" she adds. "Why are we even taking about this? That was forever ago"

"Oh!" Renee' interrupts. "I forgot to..congra-congratulates you on your two nominations" she slurs, pointing to me and Bella.

"Thanks" we say in unison.

"You know, it's weird having people tell me how hot my sister is all the time" Daniel adds, shaking his entire body. "It was worse in high school. 'Dude, your sister has a huge rack.' It was horrible."

"Really?" Bella asks, proudly?

"Fuck that" Gran says, smiling. "I'm so fucking proud that you're my granddaughter" she says.

Is she drunk too?

"I saw Second Chances" David asks. "It was really good."

"No offense, but your character was a huge douchebag" Daniel adds.

"And that chair scene?" Renee, fanning herself. "Mucho caliente" she whispers-loudly, taking another sip of her wine.

Now, she's drunk

Bella growls before taking another sip of her wine.

"Uh-oh" Chief asks. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Bella states calmly. "I just hate Lauren Mallory's guts. That's all"

"What did she do?" Daniel asks, getting another piece of ham.

"We just don't see eye to eye" she starts. "But, if she doesn't leave Edward alone, we're gonna see mouth to fist" she growls again.

"She try to steal ya boyfriend?" Gran asks, her Jamaican accent peaking out through her annoyance.

"Tried" Bella says, smiling at me.

"Ah, fuck that bitch!" Renee' slurs, some of her wine falling out of her glass. "I never liked her anyway."

"Wait a minute" Gran says slowly. "She try to steal ya boyfriend… and her shit not broke?" she asks, confused.

"Well…"

"I would have been bust all her shit if that were me. It would have been all over the fuckin magazines." Gran interrupts. "What happen? Hollywood made you soft" she adds, shaking her head.

"What's wif that walk anteways" Renee' slurs. "Whenever she's on the red carpet she walks likes she's trying to be sexy and itch her pussy at the same time. That's impossible" she says.

It takes a second for it to register what she just said. Then, everyone starts to laugh. To make it worse, Renee's gets up from the table and does an exact impersonation of Lauren's walk, drops of her wine sloshing all over the hard wood floor.

"Plus, she…"

Ding Dong

"Who is it?" Bella asks, as the doorbell rings.

"I'll go see" Chief says, getting up from the table.

He's gone for a couple of minutes and Bella gets up from her chair to peek around the corner.

"Who it is?" Renee' asks, not only slurring but messing up her grammar as well.

"It's a girl" she answers, peeking her head out further. "Short, blonde, she's dressed nice."

I'm not sure if anyone noticed it, but Daniel shut his eyes and started to shake his head.

"Dad's talking to her... He's laughing... She's following him over here…"

"Daniel," Chief says, trying not to laugh. "Someone is here to…"

"Oooooooh my God!" the girl shrieks as she takes a look at Bella. "You're Bella Swan! I love you! Halfsies was like… the greatest show ever! I've seen all your movies! Your special was awesome! Aww… you're even prettier in person" she rushes out so fast, even Alice would have a hard time understanding her.

"Well… it's nice to meet a fan" Bella smiles, smoothing out her hair.

"Can I get a hug?" she asks. Bella engulfs her in a hug, mouthing 'Who the fuck is this'?" to us around her back.

"Hello. I'm Kelly, Daniel's girlfriend" she introduces herself to Bella.

Bella smiles. "You…sure are" she says, looking at her, then looking at her brother.

"Hey, baby" she says, sitting in Daniel's lap and kissing his cheek. "Aren't you glad

that I was able to make it.? Sorry it took me so long to get here. This a-hole was tailing me the entire way here. If you're gonna ride my ass, at least pull my hair. It's so…. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh" she screams as she sees my face.

"Oh shit!" she screams, fanning herself. "You're you. Y-you're Edward Cullen" she giggles and jumps up and down in Daniel's lap. "I love your movies. I saw Second Chances…so sad. I hope you win something" she says. "You too Bella. Time was awesome. That guy who played William…so hot. You have some pipes on you, girl. You could be a pop singer" she says, nodding her head at her own suggestion.

"Oh my God, I'm so forgetful" she admonishes herself. "I'm Kelly. Daniel's girlfriend" she gets up and starts to shake everyone's hand. "I've heard so much about all of you" she beams.

"Awww" Renee says slowly, trying not to slur. "That's so…sweet" she finishes before starting to giggle and look at her wine glass.

Kelly likes red. She has on a red dress with a red and white ribbon around the middle with red earrings and red shoes with a white ribbon going around them.

Maybe it's because it's Christmas.

"I have to use the ladies room" Kelly whispers into Bella's ear.

"I'll slow you honey" Renee' says, getting up and leading her out. She comes back into the room giggling before grabbing her glass and giving Daniel the stink eye before she leaves again.

"Goddamn it, boy" Gran yells quietly.

"Seriously?" David laughs. His mouth is open so wide you can see mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"She's…spirited" Chief adds, laughing at his son.

Everyone at the table looks at Bella for her response. She sits there quietly licking her fingers. Then, she sticks her index finger in Daniels' ear.

"Are you insane?" she questions. "How old is she?"

"22"

"She acts like she's 12" she admonishes, before she starts to laugh. "Wow, this is really unexpected."

"I don't know how… but she found out where I lived. It was strictly a survival technique" he says, holding his hands up.

"If your libido had a face, I'd punch it" Gran says, shaking her head. Afterwards, a giggling Renee' comes back with Kelly and we proceed on with dinner. But, the atmosphere has certainly changed.

"Excuse me" Kelly asks me shyly.

"Yes" I say, wiping my mouth.

"Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer" she says, lowly.

"Okay"

"Is your smile _really_ crooked, or is it just an act?" she asks, before blushing. David laughs and Bella throws a roll at him. I hear her giggle.

"It's real" I say, nodding.

"Cool" she says.

"You look like a sexy stroke victim, when you smile" David says, looking at me.

"Oh God. Can this get any more awkward?" Bella whispers.

"Bella, I didn't know you were a paegent girl. Renee' showed me all of your crowns. They're so many" Kelly says, smiling at Bella. "I am too. I was Miss Peach

2003" she says. "What was your talent?"

I couldn't hold it in. Neither could anyone else. Bella's face flushed red as everyone with the exception of Kelly busted out laughing.

After everyone cleaned the kitchen, Gran's orders, we walked into the den to open presents.

"Can we open our gifts to each other later?" I ask her. "They're kind of private."

"I was thinking the same thing" she smiles. "It'll be like our own private Christmas"

I witnessed the most bizarre gift giving session of my life. Bella gave Renee an aura detector, Charlie a year supply of bullets. He said it was the perfect gift. Daniel and David got matching iPod touches. Kelly got a picture and an autograph from us since her arrival was last minute."

After everything was cleaned and everyone left, it was 10 at night.

"We're gonna head off to be-ed" Renee says, pulling Chief with her upstairs. "Goodnight"

I noticed Chief giving me the stink eye until he was out of sight.

"Goodnight" we say, waving as they pass us by.

"You wanna exchange gifts now?" she asks me. "Yeah" I say. "I'll be right back"

"Meet me outside" she says, as I go upstairs to get my gifts. Bella forbade me from getting her more than one. I disobeyed. When I saw one particular item, I felt like I had to get it.

I go outside to see her sitting on a bench on the side of the guesthouse that overlooks the trees in the land. She pats a seat next to her and I sit down.

'Who's first?" I ask.

"Um… I'll go first" she says, blushing. "You're wither gonna think it's cute or it's lame" she tells me, handing me a small box wrapped in gold wrapping paper.

She covers her face with her hands, shaking her head as I unwrap the box to see that it's a watch box.

"I had to get it custom made" she explains. "The designer looked at me like I was nuts when I described what I wanted. Open it" she giggles, blushing.

Once I see what it is, I smile from ear to ear. It's a Cartier watch with a Bambi and

Mufasa background. Their noses are touching.

"Let's forget that Bambi was a boy" she suggests staring at me. "Look on the back" she says, tapping it.

_Edward & Bella I LOVE YOU Christmas 2010_

"Do you like it?" she asks, blushing. "I had no idea what to get you. You already have everything."

"I love it" I tell her, taking my old watch off and putting on my new one. I kiss her gently on her lips, putting my first gift on her lap.

When I thought about getting it for her, I was afraid that I would be hitting a soft spot for her. But, the more I thought it over, the more I felt it was a good idea.

"Tiffany's?" she asks, holding up the blue box.

"Cartier?" I reply, holding up my wrist.

She shakes the box first, smiling at the sound it makes. She looks at me, shaking the object out on her hand. She looks down and starts to stare at it.

"Edward" she whispers as tears start to form in her big brown eyes, falling on the silver baby rattle.

_I never heard you, but I miss you I never knew you, but I love you Cameron Swan- 2001_

"I wasn't sure if you…" I started as Bella wraps her arms around me.

"Thank you" she whimpers, sniffling on my shirt. "This is just… thank you" she says, holding my face between her hands before kissing me. I wipe her tears away with my thumbs.

"I got you something else" I say, holding the last gift in my hand. "Edward" she admonishes. "We agreed. Only one gift"

"No. You said one gift" I say. "Close your eyes. Lift your hair" I order. She shakes her head as I close the necklace around her neck. I even see her eyes rolling through her eye lids. "Open"

She looks down at my last gift.

"They didn't have any of the other ones. So, I designed a new one" I say as she runs her fingers over the new Bambi necklace I got her. The design is a little bigger. It's gold. Instead, this time instead of Swarovski crystals, it's pink, brown and white diamonds in the design and BELLA spelled out below.

"Awww" she says, running her hands over it. "It's a little like the one I had in high school" she admits.

"Can you take better care of this one, please? I can't afford to keep buying you these. They're kind of expensive" I say, tucking a piece behind her ear.

"Huh?" she asks slowly, stopping in her tracks. "What do you m…" she stops, getting up from the bench and starts to pace around.

That's not the reaction I expected

She looks at me, rubbing her index and thumb over the bracelet before she walks over by the front of the house.

"Bella!" I call out, running after her. "Did I scare you?" I ask, frantically. "I'm sorry. I just was…"

"Shut up" Bella whimpers, running her fingers through my hair. "You're ruining it."

She pushes my head forward to kiss me, opening the door to the guest at the same time. This kiss is different from our others. It's more… something.

"Fuck, I love you" she whispers, pushing me down on the bed.

From then on, I don't know undressed who. I just know what in a matter of seconds we're naked with my head between her legs as I take one slow, long lick up her pussy.

"Shit, Edward" she moans, rocking her hips against my face. I continue my ministrations, loving the sounds she makes as I make love to her with my tongue and my fingers. "Edward!" she yells, reaching her peak. I smile against her, lapping up all of her juices.

Within mere seconds, I'm buried inside her.

"God, you feel so good after you cum" I grunt against her lips, sliding my cock out, except the tip, before pushing back inside her.

"Damn" she whimpers, rolling her hips with my rhythm. "I missed your cock, baby" she adds, running her hands over my back.

I place her knees on my shoulders, hitting her spot at a new angle, making her breast giggle with every thrust. "Let me hear you" I grunt as I circle my hips. "I love the sounds you make for me" I tell her at the time she cries out, holding on to the bars on the headboard.

"Oh, God! Edward!" she moans loudly arching her back as she bites her lip. "Harder!" she commands. "Don't stop!"

That fucking lip

"So…good" I mutter, obliging her request.

"Oh…ah…yes" she whimpers. "Right there….just like that…ah God…EDWARD!" she cries, milking my cock with her orgasm.

"Shit!" I yell, coming with her.

"It's official" she says, catching her breath. "You're the most perfect man in existence" she giggles, kissing me where she can reach. I gently pull out of her, rolling us on our sides.

"I'm the lucky one" I say, smiling. "I love you" I say, looking into her eyes.

"I hated being away from you. Ryan called me a kill joy" she laughs, running her fingers through my hair.

"We're together now" I say, kissing her. "Let's stay together tonight?" she asked. Chief already hates me.

"Sure" I say, holding her until she falls asleep.

We enter the house the next morning to the twins giggling, Renee' smiling, Gran eating, and Chief narrowing his eyes at me shaking his head.

"Nice nigh?" David asks.

"Very nice" Bella says, pouring herself some orange juice. "Isn't that…" Renee' asks

"Yep" Bella answers, pouring me a cup of coffee before sitting down in my lap. She gives her dad the stink eye.

Breakfast was pretty uneventful- by Swan standards. After we showered and got dressed, we were packing up to head to the airport. Bella went to use the bathroom, leaving Chief and I alone packing the car.

"Look" I say to Chief. "I know you hate my guts. But, I love your daughter. I'm going to spend the rest of my life making her happy. I'm sorry if the idea of that pisses you off. But, frankly I don't care what you think" I rush out, standing my ground.

Then, he smiled at me.

"Let me tell you something" he says, leaning on the car. "When you're young, you only think about yourself- what you want, what you need" he starts. "Then, you meet that one person that forces you to think differently. They understand you. They put up with you. They love you. You do the same" he adds. "Then, you have children" he smiles, looking towards the house.

"Personally, I don't know what it's like for mothers and their sons. But, when a man has a daughter, it's completely different. From that moment on, you realize two things. One, you'll try everything in your power to keep them from being hurt- emotionally or physically. Two, _no man_- no matter how attractive…rich…or powerful they may be… will _ever_ be good enough for them. You only see things from your perspective, now. But later, you'll see it from mine" he adds. I nod my head.

"That being said, no man is good enough for my Bunny" he sighs, looking at the house. "But… you're as close as it's gonna get" he laughs.

"Sir, that mea…"

"I'm not finished" he says, holding his hand up, helping me load our suitcases in the trunk. "I'm gonna strip this down to the most basic level. We're not Chief and Edward. We're not the boyfriend asking his girlfriend's father for permission to marry her" he takes a breath. "As two _men_ talking to one another, do I have your word that you won't hurt my child?" he asks, looking me in my eyes. "That's the only thing a man has in the world- his name and his word."

"Yes." I answer quickly and honestly. "You have my word."

He sighs. "Then, you have my blessing" he smiles, shaking my hand.

"Thank you, sir" I say. "It means a lot knowing that you approve…somewhat" I bend down to make sure that the bags are secured in the back so they won't roll

around. Then, I feel a hand grab hold of the back of my neck, holding my body at a 90 degree angle.

This hurts

"9 years ago, I left this house with 20 pounds of lye, a pistol, a shovel, a plastic tarp, 30 yards of rubber tubing, and a polyurethane tub. Do you want to guess why?" he asks. I shake my head. "I was going to kill Riley Briers and bury him in the back yard" he admits. I could tell he wasn't joking. "The only thing that stopped me was that I left my gun silencer and had to come back home. Then, Renee' caught me and talked me off the brink" he adds.

"Mhmm" I say, showing that I'm paying attention.

"I admit, I would have been acting irrationally, but I would have done it. Not only would I have done it, I would have gotten away with it too. It was a pretty fool proof plan. I thought of it in 45 minutes" he says in my ear. "Can you imagine the shit I could think of during a six hour plane ride?"

"No, sir" I say.

"So, if you hurt my daughter, in any capacity, I swear on everything I hold dear- from my wife, my children, my mother, my father's grave, all the way down to the ever-delicious McRib, that I will fly to LA or wherever you're staying and I will kill you. You will die a slow, torturous death. Then, I'll fly back home and have dinner before anyone even notices you're missing" he states, hissing each word in my ear. "Your disappearance will live in infamy. Got that?"

"Yes, sir" I say.

"You'll be the next Jimmy Hoffa," he breathes in my ear. "People will call into the National Enquirer claiming to have seen you at a 7 Eleven. They'll be wrong...because you'll be _**dead**_. I'm talking Biggie. I'm talking Tupac. I have a license to kill and don't you fucking forget it," he hisses. "Clear?"

"Crystal," I choke out.

I'm starting to get light headed.

"Then, welcome to the family" he lets go of my neck. My body goes slack. "Man up. I didn't choke you that long," he stands me up and pats me on the back.

"I'm fine," I cough a little and rest against the car.

"That's good," he smiles and slams the trunk shut. " All things considered, you fit in nicely. Most would have run for the hills before breakfast" he says, talking to me like he didn't just threaten me.

"Uh...huh," I nod, still regaining my breath.

"You know… it was really hard to be mean to you" he confesses, smiling. "I was fully prepared to make your time here miserable. But, you're so…nice" he laughs a little bit. "It's clear to see that you love Bella and she loves you. I'm happy that you two found each other."

What?

"I'm not normally this mean" he confesses. "I mean, I meant what I said about killing you, but I don't go around grunting… and… crossing my arms all the time," he sighs. "Well...welcome to the family."

Huh?

"You guys done talking?" Bella asks, coming to stand beside us.

"Yeah" we said at the same time.

I have no clue what just happened.

"Bye, Daddy" Bella says, hugging her father and kissing his cheek.

"Bye, Bunny" he hugs her back, and looking at her.

"Bye, Chief" I say, shaking his hand…again.

He laughs, shaking his head. "It's Charlie" he tells me, before walking back inside. Bella smiles and jumps a little.

"He said you could call him Charlie" she beams kissing me. "See. He likes you" We pull out of the driveway and head to the airport.

"That wasn't so hard. Was it?" she asks.

Are you fucking kidding me?

**I'm sorry that it took me so long to update. It's been crazy hectic lately. I hope you liked it!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Duh!**

"Alice" I hiss, swatting away her measuring tape away for the 6th time today. "Stop it"

"No" she calmly says, moving the tape from my bust to my waist. "I have to make sure that my measurements are exact. The dress is supposed to fit like a glove. Precision is key" she reasons, writing down my measurements.

The Golden Globes were tomorrow and every female celebrity in Hollywood was falling over themselves trying to find 'the perfect dress'. I personally don't give a shit. It would be nice not to get picked on by Joan Rivers though.

She can be a bitch sometimes.

"You've come a long way from someone who wouldn't even let me look at your designs" I say, poking her stomach.

"Bella" she giggles, shaking her head. "Of course, I'm still mad at you"

Once I got back from my time with my family, Rose sat me and Alice down and informed us that Alice would be designing my dress. I thought it was a good idea and supported the suggestion. Alice, then threw another hissy fit about us 'not respecting her wishes'. Blah blah blah. I threatened to wear flip flops. She caved.

"Seriously?" I ask. "You're amazing. Why won't…"

"I've decided that I'll design on my spare time and not try to make a go of it. If it happens, it happens. I won't actively seek it out" she interrupts. "Plus, who else would you find to be your assistant? You need me."

"Eh…" I shrug my shoulder as I take a bite out of a philly cheesesteak.

Fuck that's good!

"You're gonna stain that expensive Gucci suit, if you aren't careful" she chides, moving the tape to my hips.

We've been shooting the stateside scenes for the Anyone But You. My character is supposed to be this high-fashion mega bitch designer in the movie who's married to this famous self-help guru. Needless to say, for the remainder of the shoot, I swapped tattered clothes and swimsuits for high-fashion designer duds. I had on this black high-waist skirt with a corset band with a black see through blouse with a high collar, and thin tank on under it tucked inside the skirt, several jewelry pieces and sky high heels that hurt. According to Alice and Rose, I looked 'fierce as fuck'.

I feel uncomfortable.

"I wonder if wardrobe would notice if I stole those shoes" she mumbles, staring at the 6 ½ inch gold stilettos that I'm being forced to wear. Apparently their hot shit because they're exclusive.

"I wear a size 7 shoe" I laugh.

"So?"

"You wear a size 5. You have to special order your heels. There is no way you'd be able to walk in them" I reason, causing her to shake her head.

"I'd figure something out" she says, eyeing the shoes. "When is Edward getting back?"

Edward had been in Paris the past two weeks shooting scenes for Inception. He sent me a picture of him in this sexy ass suit. Mmmm… Anyway, the crew is off to make it to the Golden Globes. So, I'll get 2 days of Edward.

"When I talked to him earlier, he said either really late tonight or early tomorrow morning."

"Good. I know you miss him" she says, patting my shoulder. "You won't shut up."

"Well… I miss him." I blush. "I love my Edward…and his peen"

"Weirdo" she says, opening the door of my trailer.

"It's time to earn my paycheck" I say, heading to set to start shooting.

Shooting was…long to say the least. It was hard to act all 'fierce' and shit when all I wanted to do was cradle my feet and apologize to them for wearing those shoes. They're cute but they're not worth the pain. A major plus was working with the cast. To be honest, I don't think a single frame of this movie has been read from a script. It's mostly notes and improve.

It was a total surprise when James Franco, who has a cameo along with Danny McBride came on set to play the main characters' divorce lawyers. It was too much fun. Although, it got a little awkward when James Franco hit on Alice.

I don't think she minded that much.

They finally called it a day at 3 in the morning after a 16 hour day. Fuck, I can't wait to get in bed.

I step in my front door to find Captain passed out in one of his many dog beds that I bought him for Christmas with a dog treat hanging out of his mouth. I take a picture of it with my phone and head upstairs to bed. I don't bother to find pajamas and settle for taking my jeans off and sleeping in my t shirt. I don't think I made it 10 seconds before I went to sleep after my head hit the pillow.

I'm hungry… but I'm too tired to care

Later, my bladder chooses to wake me, threatening to explode. As I make a movement, I realize an arm with bronze-colored hair obstructing my escape.

"Sweetie" I whisper, shaking him. "Muuuufaaaasa" I giggle whisper. Nothing. He's sleeping really hard. His mouth is open and everything. If I couldn't hear him breathing, I'd think he was dead.

He's so cute.

I gently lift his arm off of me and make it to the bathroom before I piss myself. After I do my business, I walk into the bedroom to see that Edward is lying on his back… pitching a tent large enough to house a small family.

I begin to lift off the covers to…

"Up! Up! Up!" Alice bursts through the room clapping, waking Edward up, and pissing me off in rapid succession.

"Wha…" Edward mumbles, turning over. "It's so…early" he says, looking at the clock.

"The Golden Globes are today" she says bouncing. "Bodies must be waxed. Hair must be curled, nails must be polished. Plus I have to fit your dress…again" she says, eyeing me.

"You fit me for it yesterday…twice" I remind her.

"I saw you eat dinner. Shrimp Alfredo, steak and fries" she says in awe. "You've had to gain at least a quarter of a pound" she tells me, poking my stomach. I flick her off. "Put some pants on!" she orders.

"No" I say. "It's 7 in the morning. I got off at 3. Can I have another hour? Please?" I beg, clasping my fingers together and everything.

Plus, I wanna have sex with Edward.

"Pleeeaaaaase?" Edward mumbles from his position in the bed, backing me up.

"Ugh!" she gripes, shutting the door. "59 minutes!"

"You heard her" Edward says, kicking off his boxers and pulling me on the bed on top of him.

After we get reacquainted with each other, we take a shower together and head down to face our doom.

"Time to go" Alice says, pulling me to the door. "You too" she says to Edward. "Your clothes are over at your house. Jazz and Emmett will be there" she tells him before pushing me in my car.

"But…" Edward starts, reaching for me

"Out!" she says.

20 minutes later, I arrive at the most sought after spa in LA, among several paparazzi and other celebrities.

"Oh my God!" Alice shrieks. "It's Sarah Jessica Parker" she whisper shouts as we wave to her. "Shit! She's coming over here" she says, nervously.

"Hey!" she says, coming over to shake my hand. "I just wanted to come over and say introduce myself. I'm Sarah" she tells me, giggling. "I love you"

"Thanks. I'm Bella" I reply, smiling. "This is my dear friend Alice"

"H-Hi" Alice stutters, shaking her hand.

"It was nice talking to you guys" she says, as she gets a phone call. "I've gotta go… awards and all" she says, making her way to the door. "Good luck"

"Wow" Alice looks at the door like she's gonna reappear.

"Alice" I say, waving my hand in her face.

"Oh" she shakes her head. "I booked you a wing of the spa" she says, as one of the employees leads us to our room.

"What took you bitches so long?" Rose turns around in her chair, taking a cucumber off of her eyelids.

"I got to meet SJP!" Alice gushes, sitting down.

"She's cool" Rose admits, taking an earpiece out of her ear. "How's it going…mommy to be…bride to be?" I ask, hugging her.

Rose was at the end of her 6th month about to enter her 7th. Emmett proposed to her on New Years Eve at a small party he threw for the 6 of us. It was the most random proposal I'd ever witnessed…not like I've witnessed a lot of proposals.

Flashback

"Emmett" Rose cried out, slamming the refrigerator door closed holding the empty bottle of grape juice in her hand. "Why would you drink the last of the juice? You know I can't drink" she cries, throwing it in the garbage. "You're so selfish!" she accuses, tears running down her face.

She's having a hormonal day.

"Rose is…crying…over juice?" Edward asks in my ear, softly.

"It's Bean talking" I answer, making him laugh. I've dubbed Rose and Emmett's spawn Bean…because he looked like a lima bean when I first saw an ultrasound.

I'm so clever.

"You hate grape juice" Emmett says, confused. "So… I thought it was okay."

"But you don't have anything else that I could drink. No apple juice. No orange juice? All you have is alcohol and I don't feel like drinking water" she whimpers.

"I'm sorry"

"No you're not" she says, angrily this time. "You drank it!" she says, poking his chest. "You asshole!"

"Where is this going?" Jasper asks us. We all shrug our shoulders.

"Why are you hitting me all the time?" he asks, annoyed rubbing his chest.

"Don't get pissy with me"

"I'll get pissy all I want when you start acting crazy for no reason" he replies.

"Don't piss me off, McCarthy" she warns, one hand on her hip and the other on her belly.

"Or what?" he asks, smirking.

"Are you laughing?" she asks, tears welling up…again. "God, I feel sorry for the woman that marries you"

"Really?" he asks, getting a little angry. "That's why it's gonna be you"

"Pssh" she rolls her eyes. "You don't have the balls to marry me"

"Do too"

"Do not"

"Do too"

"DO not"

"Do too" he says, getting down on one knee and pulling out a small velvet box. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Oh my God!" Alice whispers, becoming jittery.

"What the Hell is happening?" I whisper in Edward's ear.

"I planned on doing this when the fireworks started" Emmett begins. "However, I feel that the time has presented itself. Rose, you are the sexiest…sweetest…bitchiest woman that I know. You make me smile and put up with my shit…which is more than I can say for any other woman in my life. I love you. You love me. Let's make this official. Marry me."

Rose sits there with her mouth open in shock. We sit there in an awkward silence when she starts to blink rapidly.

"Please?" he adds, shaking the rather large diamond. "Stop acting like you don't want to marry me" he laughs.

"Is this your attempt at a proposal" Rose asks, tapping her foot.

"Uh…yeah?"

"Emmett" she whimpers, falling in his arms. "It was so perfect" she cries, kissing him as he puts the ring on her finger. "I love you"

"I love you too" he says, wiping her tears. He opens the freezer door and pulls out a can of fruit punch. "I know you like it when it's a little frozen" he says, giving it to her.

"My monkey man" she whimpers, opening the can.

"Yay!" Alice shouts, going over to hug the couple.

"What just…"

"I don't know" I answer Edward's question.

"How is Bean?" Alice asks, rubbing Rose's baby bump.

"Stop calling my son Bean" she shouts, swatting Alice's hand away.

Rose finally caved and found out the sex of the baby. In the next 2 months, Emmett and Rose will be the parents of a new baby boy.

"Nope" I reply, popping the 'p'. "He will always be called Bean" I tell her as a team of message therapists and things like that come in.

It all went downhill from there.

Seaweed wraps

Mud bath

Hot rock message (that burned) Body scrub (that hurt)

Wax (legs, eyebrows, armpits, arms…Brazilian)

I don't even have hair in some of the places they waxed

I could barely walk after. They should have wheelchairs in that place to help you get to your car.

"Bella!"

"Bella over here!"

"How are things with Edward?"

"Things look pretty serious"

"Who are you wearing to the awards?"

"Who do you think will win your categories?"

"Uh…" I mumble as Alice drives back to my house. "Everything hurts"

"Can it" she says, pulling into my driveway. "Hair and makeup will be here in the next 30 minutes or so" she says, going into the closet. "Strip…Bras and undies" she orders, before taking my measurements again. As she finishes taking measurements, the doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of hair and makeup.

"I'm Simon" one of the them says. "I'll be doing your hair."

"I'm Jasmine. Makeup" the other says, shaking my hand.

"I'm Bella" I say, awkwardly. I'm not used to this kind of treatment. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course" Simon says. "I've wanted my hands in this hair for ages. It so long, thick and luxurious" he says, running his fingers over my scalp. "Fabulous and not one extension."

"Uh…thanks"

"Hello" Alice says, introducing herself. "Since I am the designer, I hope you won't mind if I give some suggestions"

"Sure"

"Natural" she says, flipping my hair over my shoulder. "Flowy. Not too done. Some up. Some down. I want her to look she just woke up looking fabulous" she says. "Understand?"

"Of course"

"I'll be upstairs doing some moderations to the dress. Call me if you need me" she says, heading to my study… that I've yet to study in. "You have 4 hours. We're on a tight schedule."

You know how they say, "time flies when you're having fun?" Well, time drags on when you're being tortured. I never knew it could take 3 hours to get your hair done. It took Simon 45 minutes to determine which side of my head to put the part in. Then, Jasmine couldn't decide whether honey or champagne was the right kind of eye shadow. They looked exactly the same.

Even though the mechanics were gruesome, they were actually really funny. But, it kinds sucked when I had to get my mascara redone because I kept laughing.

Edward: How are you holding up?

Bella: I'm being primped and prepped. U?

Edward: Same

Edward: I miss you

Bella: Ditto, Mufasa

Edward: I can't wait to walk you down the carpet and have the entire world know you're mine.

Bella: I love it when you get possessive. It brings chills to me.

Edward: LOL!

"Time is up" Alice announces.

"How does she look?" "Beautiful"

"Fabulous"

Tired?

"Great!" she says, clapping and jumping up and down.

"Cool" I say, walking to a mirror to see the finished product.

"No" Alice forbids. "I want you to see the look in its entirety" I roll my eyes, as I hug Simon and Jasmine and give them a check.

A really big check

"Upstairs" she orders. By this time, I know better than to argue so I follow her lead.

"Alice" I say in awe, looking at the dress hanging on the door. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks" she says, handing me a bag from La Perla. "Go change"

After I change into my big girl panties, I put on the dress. I'm amazed at how good it looks.

"I'm not even into fashion, but this is…fabulous" I say, turning around to take in all of the dress.

"See" she says, in victory. "All those times you swatted me away when I was trying

to take measurements…they were for a good cause. Do you like the color?"

Alice designed a muted gold-colored dress with an exquisite gold beading pattern that follows the lines of my body to a t. The fit is incredible. It's fit well enough to where it's not baggy, but it's not tight enough to where I won't be able to sit down…or eat.

"It's perfect" I say.

"I was scared to choose white because you're a little pale. But, blue is obviously your color so it would be an obvious choice. I saw this color and thought that it would go with your skin tone nicely."

"Thank you" I say, hugging her.

"You can say that I'm right" I hear Rose say from the doorway as she holds her dress bag in her hands. Alice flicks her off.

"Fuck you too, bitch" she laughs, sitting down. "Wow. Sexy mama. Edward is gonna cream himself when he sees you" she says, shaking her head causing me to blush.

"Nah" Alice giggles, bringing the shoebox over to me and Rose. "These will make Edward cream himself" she says, opening the box.

"Damn" Rose says, taking a shoe put of the box. "Is that snakeskin?"

"Python" Alice boasts.

Is that legal?

"I distressed it so it wouldn't look so snakey" she adds. "It was Hell staining them gold. I should charge you extra"

"Can you make me a pair?" Rose asks. "I want them in red…and black"

"It'll cost you"

"Bitch"

"Thanks" I say, sitting down to put the shoes on. They're 6 inch gold strappy sandals with a python skin platform and gold spikes around the ankle strap and rim above the platform.

I could kill someone with these.

"I feel like a dominatrix in these shoes" I giggle, as Alice whips me with some measuring tape.

"Edward will be excited" Rose giggles, causing Alice to follow suit.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"You haven't noticed?" Alice asks, astounded.

"Noticed what?"

"Edward totally has a shoe fetish" Rose says, laughing.

"No, he doesn't"

"Yes he does" she argues. "Whenever you wear a sexy pair of shoes, he stares at them"

"Why do you think I buy you heels all the time?" Alice asks.

"You're reading too much into it" I reason, putting on the Neil Lane earrings that go with my outfit along with a gold Chanel chain bracelet and ring.

"Fine" Rose says, rolling her eyes and heading to the bathroom with her bag. " He'll take one look at those shoes and 'BOING!'" she laughs, closing the door.

"Have you written your acceptance speech yet?" Alice asks, putting the finishing touches on her hair.

"She never writes them" Rose interrupts from the bathroom.

"Why?"

"I think it's presumptuous" I say. "Plus, I've never won one. So, I go, eat good food and come home" I say, reaching in my drawer to find an emergency bag of Cheetos.

"Don't you dare!" she says, snatching the bag away.

At least I tried.

"Emmett just sent a text. Edward is on his way over" Rose says, coming out of the bathroom in her outfit. She has on a gorgeous red dress along with silver accessories.

"I'll go wait down…"

"No" they say, blocking my exit.

"You have to make a grand entrance. He can't see you right away." Rose says, looking at me like I'm stupid.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to prom?" I laugh.

"Don't be stupid" Alice says. "The Oscars are like prom"

"Ladies!" I hear Jasper yelling from downstairs. "Your chariots await" he says.

"We'll be down in a minute" Alice says. "We're almost ready" she adds, giggling softly behind her hand. "He's so sweet. I love him" she whispers, putting he her over her heart.

"Baaaaaabyyy!" Emmett yells. "Come on. Let's get this party started. They're having fun on the red carpet without us!"

"We're not ready yet!" Rose replies, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you just say that?" she asks Alice, shaking her head.

"Let's go guys" I beg. "I'm tired of being in this room. Let's get this over with already. I just…"

"Wow" I hear Edward's unmistakable voice whisper.

"Damn" I say, taking him in when I get a good look at him. His tuxedo is fitted to fucking…perfection.

I wonder if Rose and Alice would notice if we fucked right here.

"Beautiful" he says, closing the gap between us and engulfs me into a hug. "Simply…stunning" he says, going in for a kiss that quickly turns needy. "I missed you" he breaths into my mouth.

"I missed you too" I moan back, going in for another kiss.

"Okay" Alice interrupts. "I hate to cockblock. However, you two need to make your way to the carpet. Now, I have to fix Bella's makeup. Rose hand me a brush" she says, before touching me up. After that, we all head to our separate cars and make our way to the red carpet.

"You're here" I say, lying across his lap and smelling him.

"Why do you always smell me?" he asks, laughing at me and placing a kiss in my hair.

"Because you smell all… Edwardy" I reply, causing him to laugh again. "Shut up! You have your own smell. They should sell it. No, they shouldn't. I don't want any other man to smell like my Edward" I reason.

"If you must know…you smell like strawberries and Bella" he tells me, taking an exaggerated sniff of my hair.

"Whatever" I say, smacking his leg. "How is shooting going?" I ask, nibbling on his ear.

Fuck my makeup!

"It's okay" he says, running his hand up my thigh, dragging up my dress. "It would be better if you were there"

"I miss you too, sweetie" I say, kissing along his jaw. "Are you getting along with the other children?"I laugh as I feel him smile against my lips.

"Yes" he grumbles. "Joseph said 'Hello'" he rolls his eyes, hissing his co star's name.

"Oh" I say, acting happy… at least I tried to. His face was hilarious. "Come on! You know I loooooove you" I say, placing kisses around his face.

"You excited about your categories?" he asks, returning my kisses.

"I won't win" I shrug my shoulders. "But, at least I'll get some good food" Wolfgang Puck caters the Golden Globes every year. His food is amazing.

My stomach just growled

"I'm happy to just be here with you" he says, resting his chin on my boob. "I don't care it's in front of millions of strangers."

"You're so romantic" I say, shimmying. "I love you" I tell him as I place a kiss in his hair. "I can't wait to…what are you looking at?" I ask, following his stare.

Oh God

"Those shoes are…nice" he compliments, before nuzzling his face in my chest just as the car stops. "Damn" he whimpers between my boobs. "It was just getting good"

We separate to get ourselves together just as the driver opens the door. We exit the car to a sea of camera flashes and screaming fans. I see several other celebrities getting interviewed while others go down the carpet signing autographs.

"You ready?" he asks, kissing my knuckles.

"Yeah" I say, as we start walking.

"Stop right there" Alice runs over in her outfit. It's a beautiful deep purple, knee length dress with detailing along with black stilettos. "I knew it" she says, taking out some lipstick to fix my and Edward's mix up. "You horny bitch" she chides giggling before sending us on our way.

"Edward"

"Edward"

"Bella"

"Bellward"

"Over here you two"

"How are you two doing tonight?"

"How is shooting going?"

We sit and pose side by side for what seems like forever. My face is actually starting to hurt. Edward squeezes my hip, asking me to look at him. For a split second, I look in his eyes and it's like no one else is there. He smiles, tilting my chin up so he could reach my lips. However, the increase in shouting a light flashes alert me to the presence of others.

"Can you handle it?" I ask. "They probably want some private interviews or something."

"Yeah" he sighs, squeezing my hand before we separate. "I'll see you inside."

I walk down a short portion, signing autographs for fans and answering a couple of interviewer's questions. Then I saw him.

Ryan Seacrest. Shit.

"Bella!" he says, making full on eye contact with me. "Over here" I walk over to the camera and pose for a few pictures.

"How you feeling tonight?" he asks.

"I'm feeling good. No matter how many of these things I go to, I still feel a little out of place" I say, honestly laughing a little.

"You're nominated twice tonight. Are you excited?"

"Yeah" I say, honestly. "Getting nominated for Time was such a surprise. I thought it was a fun project. I had no idea it would get that kind of acclaim. As far as

Halfsies goes, it's like my second family so anything involving that is always fun. It's just an honor to be nominated, really" I finish with the cliché' response.

"Who are you wearing?"

"It's Pix by Alice Brandon" I say, to his shocked face. "She's a new designer. I'm showing support tonight."

"You look fabulous. Good luck" "Okay" I say, walking away.

"Bella, over here!" I hear three voices call out to me… Isaac Mizrahi, Jay Manuel and Joan Rivers. Alice sees them approach me. I heard her gasp from down the carpet.

They already saw me

I walk over and walk up the platform shortly after Natalie Portman exits. "I'm scared" I joke, giving the fashion critiques hugs.

"Why?" Jay asks, laughing.

"You guys ripped me a new one last year" I reply.

"Well you shouldn't have dressed like a blind hooker" Joan says, causing everyone to laugh.

"You're nominated for 2 awards. You nervous?"

"Yeah. I'm just taking it one second at a time, right now. I'm glad to just be here" "Oh my God" Isaac starts, motioning to my outfit. "The hair. The makeup…" he

pauses. "The dress!" he shouts, touching the fabric. "Is that good?" I ask, blushing.

"Yes!" they shout.

"Your boobs look spectacular" Isaac says, miming like he was copping a feel. I laugh and swat his hand away.

"Who are you wearing?" Jay asks.

"Pix by Alice Brandon"

"I haven't heard of her"

"She's new. She's probably hyperventilating in a paper bag right now" I joke. "She did my shoes too"

"Can we see the shoes?" Isaac asks.

"Okay" I say, slowly lifting my dress up to reveal the shoes. I hear some oohs and aahs before the camera gets a closeup and I'm free to go after I step into the 360 camera fashion thing.

From then on, I pose for more pictures, flash my shoes and sign autographs. I breathe a sigh of relief as Edward comes back into view. "How'd it go, superstar?" I ask, giving him a kiss.

"Good" he answers, putting his arm around my waist.

"Cool" I say, as we're escorted inside.

At the globes, if you're nominated for something you have to sit with the rest of the cast. Because of that, I sat with Jessica, Theresa, and the rest of the cast. We all hug each other and catch up, with the exception of Jessica.

Bitch

"You look fabulous" Theresa says, pointing to my outfit.

"Ugh!" Jessica rolls her eyes. "Why is everyone saying that? I don't see it"

"I'm surprised you can see anything with that bright ass dress you got on. What color is that? Highlighter?" I reply as Theresa laughs.

Jessica has on this extremely low cut neon yellow gown that barely covers anything.

I love her.

"Besides, they're gonna need censor graphics to cover your outfit…or lack thereof" Theresa adds, earning a high five from me. "Who designed that?"

"Alice Brandon"

"That tiny girl that's your assistant?" she asks shocked. "Hair, makeup, assistant, and designer? Shit. Does she do windows?" she adds, before laughing.

"I'm so glad that I don't have to put up with you bitches anymore" Jessica sneers, before the lights dim and the host comes out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2011 Golden Globe Awards…."

After that, I stopped paying attention and Theresa and I started a Tic-Tac-Toe tournament with the rest of the cast.

My purse starts to shake on the table, signaling that I got a text. Edward: Jessica pissing you off, already?

Bella: Of course.

Edward: I trust you've verbally abused her as usual.

Bella: U know me so well.

Edward: That I do

Bella: Is Lauren taking the hint. Edward: I don't think so.

Bella: Say the word and I'll beat her ass in the bathroom.

Edward: You're so violent. LOL.

Bella: You know you love it! ;)

Edward: Guilty

My phone beeps with a message from someone else.

Esme: You look so beautiful. My son is lucky to have you on his arm

Bella: Thank you. Esme: Good luck

Bella: Your mom is so sweet!

Edward: That she is. She texted me saying how lucky I was.

Bella: Awww…

I think I have a girl crush on Esme

Another beep.

Mom: Hotness! Act surprised when you win. Bella: You don't know I'll win

Mom: Uh huh. I read the tea leaves in my morning chai. It is certain.

Bella: *eye roll*

Mom: smart ass

Edward: Your mom just text you didn't she?

Bella: You amaze me with shit like that….it's sexy.

"Bella" Theresa nudges me. "They're announcing your category" she says as Jake Gyllenhaul and Anne Hathaway come to the podium to announce the Best Supporting Actress in a Sitcom

Edward: Good luck!

"…and the nominees are… Toni Collette- United States of Tara, Tina Fey- 30 Rock, Laura Linney- The Big C, and Isabella Swan- Halfsies" Jake says, as the camera pans on me and my image is on the screen.

"…and the winner is…" Anne says, a slow drumroll starting

"… Laura Linney for The Big C!" they announce together. I smile and clap as

Laura goes up to accept her award.

I always find it a little annoying that they always do close-ups of the losers' faces like they're hoping for a sour look.

Another beep

Edward: I'm sorry. There's always number 2

Bella: It's okay. It's pretty stiff competition. Hopefully you'll have better luck.

Mom: THIS IS BULLSHIT!

Gran: Fuck Showtime! Dad: I'm sorry, Bunny

David: That show sucks balls!

Daniel: I'm pissed!

The show goes to commercial and the theater fills with chatter.

"I'm sorry you didn't win…for the 7th time" Jessica says, with a small grin playing at her lips.

"I'm sorry you weren't even nominated…for the 8th time" I reply, rolling my eyes. By the time the show starts again, my stomach is growling. I think it even called

me a bitch at one point. I should have took those Cheetos back from Alice.

Wolfgang Puck better be on his A game tonight

The show starts again. We got tired of Tic-Tac-Toe, so the crew and I started a tournament of SOS. I don't even know why I agreed to that game. I suck horribly at it.

"And now we have Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie with the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama" the announcer says, as the presenters go on stage. After all this time, Johnny Depp is still a sexy mofo.

Shut up! You know I love Edward

"The nominees are… Edward Cullen- Second Chances, Colin Firth- The King's Speech, James Franco- 127 Hours, and Mark Whalberg- The Fighter." Angeline says, as the camera looks to the nominees.

"…and the winner is…" Johnny starts, opening the envelope. "Edward Cull.."

"Yay!" I get out of my chair as people start to clap. "Go Edward"! I say as he goes to the podium and give him a thumbs up.

I feel like such a groupie right now…but I don't care

"Wow" he says, as Angelina gives him the statue. "This means a lot to win such an award. So…thank you to all who voted" he starts, shaking his head. "Also, I'd like to thank Aro, Lauren, Keira, and Thomas. You guys are such great actors and it forced me to being my A game everyday…" he says, looking over to me. "Uh…Emmett and Jazz… Mom and Dad… Last but not least… thank you Bella for being so… loving… and supporting" he says, no doubt referring to the whole fake couple thing. "You are so amazing and I'm glad that you put up with me and my foolishness. I love you" he smiles, as the crowd "awwws" and the cameras gets a nice shot of my crimson face.

"I love you too" I mouth before he goes off stage.

Damn that sexy man…making me blush on national television

Mom: That was better than any award!

David: Somebody is getting some tonight.

Daniel: Bom chicka wah wah

"Whatever" Jessica hisses, rolling her eyes.

"Stop hating" Theresa says, throwing her napkin at Jessica.

Why don't we hang out more?

"Now presenting, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston for the Best Actress in a

Comedy or Musical" the announcer says, as the presenters come to the podium

"The nominees are… Anne Hathaway- Alice and Wonderland, Angeline Jolie- The Tourist, Emma Stone- Easy A, and Isabella Swan- Time…" Sandler starts, handing Jennifer the envelope.

"The winner is…" she starts.

"Let's play hangman" I ask Theresa, passing her the new piece of paper after the camera gets off of me, wondering what letter she'll guess first.

I hope it's not an E. Because if it is, I'm screwed

Out of nowhere, a bright ass light shines in my face as those sitting at and around my table get up and start clapping.

Huh?

I hear a whistle and see Edward standing up clapping.

Oh my…

"This is Isabella's 7th nomination and 1st win" the announcer says, as I slowly get up and begin walking to the stage.

I won? I won!

I make it to the podium as Jennifer and Adam give me a hug as Adam hands me the award.

"I love your outfit…and your shoes" Jennifer says in my ear before walking off stage.

"Uh…" I start giggling nervously as the crowd giggles with me. "I have nothing written out. I didn't think I'd get it" I say, patting myself and looking down my dress, causing more laughs. "Um… thanks you to all of those who voted. Max, you are an awesome director who pushed me out of my comfort zone. Thanks to Alice and Rose who made me realize that I had to do this movie. Thanks a lot to the person who invented autotune because I don't sound that good in real life. My mom would kill me if I didn't thank her. So thanks Mom and Dad. " I pause, as the audience giggles. "Also, thank you Edward for laughing at me when I don't even think I'm funny and for…being you… and loving me" I say, walking away. "and especially for the love you showed me this morning" I wink and go off stage, leaving a wide mouthed Edward and laughing crowd behind to go backstage.

"Fuck yes!" Rose waddles over to me, rubbing the statue. "I'm so proud of you!" she cries, hugging me.

"Thanks Rose… and Bean" I say, rubbing her stomach.

"I'll let that one slide" she narrows her eyes as I'm ambushed by Alice.

"I knew it!" she says, hugging me from the back. "I knew you'd win" she says, jumping up and down. "How does it feel?"

"Fucking awesome!" I shout, shaking my award and almost dropping it.

I feel my phone vibrate. I go and do the after interview before leaving to go back to my seat.

"Ahhhhh!" Mom screams into the phone. "I told you. This is going in the room of achievement."

"Speechless sweetie" Dad says. "We're so proud."

"Thank you" I say, shaking my head in disbelief.

I won

"We'll leave you alone and let you get back to the show" Mom says, sniffling. "Bye… come see us soon okay" she says, hanging up.

I go back to my seat and spot Edward staring at me with his trademark crooked grin.

"I told you" he mouths, smiling at me.

"I know" I mouth back, blushing.

I finish the rest of the show in a haze. Before I know it, the party is over and I'm back in Edward's arms.

"Congratulations" I say, hugging him and standing on my tip toes for a kiss.

"Thank you" he smiles, returning my kiss. "Same to you" he says, his hands going down. "I told you not to underestimate yourself" he says, as we pull up to the Vanity Fair party. "I'm not gonna win" he says, imitating my voice.

"Shut up" I playfully smack him arm.

"I should have made a bet with you for sexual favors."

"You were gonna get those anyway." I chide, grazing his cock as I get out of the limo.

"Damn" he says, following me into the party.

Everyone is here. Talking. Dancing. Then, I remember that I haven't had anything to eat since 10 in the morning and I immediately look for the food.

"Let's go find the food" Edward says, taking my hand and leading our search.

Amazing

Eventually, I have a giant plate of this Asian chicken fusion Alfredo thing. I don't know what to call it. But, the shit is delicious. The entire plate is gone within 3 minutes and Brad Pitt looked at me like I had two heads. Apparently my large appetite has been a secret…until now. I'm still hungry. Where did Nicole Kidman get that smoothie from?

I won't embarrass Edward.

"People are going to think you're pregnant if you eat like that in public" Rose says, nursing what looks to be a champagne flute filled with orange juice.

"Fuck em" I say, sopping up the Alfredo sauce with a roll. "I'm hungry"

"You'll be on bump watch before the end of the week" Jasper says, laughing.

"Leave her alone" Edward defends me, kissing my neck and rubbing my stomach.

"You're not helping" Emmett says, pointing to Edward's hand that is caressing my stomach.

"Where is Alice?" I ask, changing the subject from my eating habits.

"Last time I checked she was having a panic attack in the bathroom" Rose says, eating a vine of grapes. "She'll be okay,"

"I'll go find her" Jasper says, leaving. "She'll cry later if she found out she missed a chance to meet a fashion icon."

"I'm feeling good" I say, patting my half full tummy and going to the bar and order an Apple Martini. "It's a celebration!" I say in my best Dave Chappelle Rick James voice, before taking a sip of my beverage. Delicious. "Ahh… the perks of Hollywood after parties"

"That's why she goes to after parties. Food and Beverages… for free" Rose giggles, nibbling on a shrimp/ steak kabob.

Damn. I want one

"Here you go" Edward laughs, giving me a kabob.

"How did you know?" I ask, amazed before taking a bite out of it.

"I saw you eye fucking it" he laughs. "Plus, I know that pasta wasn't gonna satisfy you."

I love him

"I love you" I say, kissing him. He licks some Polynesian sauce off of my lip. "Hey!" I mellow voice pops out of nowhere, causing a drop of my drink to hit the floor.

"Oh. Hey Leah" I say, shaking her hand. I smile at her, remembering our weird encounter at dinner after Edward's premiere."Congrats on your win" I tell her. She won Best Director for her movie.

"I knew I'd win. The competition was shit" she says, downing a shot of what looks to be Jack Daniels. "Congrats on your win though. You were great in that movie"

"Thanks. I'm still surprised I won"

"You shouldn't be. You're solid" she says, reaching in her bag for something. "I'm in Dallas doing this project with Robert Rodriguez. It's fucking bananas" she starts, lighting a cigarette. "Anyway. I was thinking you two could have a small cameo" she says, pointing between me and Edward. "It would be like a day to shoot it. I like have random celebrity cameos in my shit."

"Really?" Edward smiles.

"Of course" she laughs, rolling her eyes. "I don't joke about shit like that" "They'll do it" Rose and Emmett interrupt us.

"Here" she says, handing each of us 2 sheets of paper with our lines on it. "I need you next week. Learn it. Bye" she says. "Bella, this could be the start of something…" she finishes walking away.

"Hello, Clearwater" Emmett starts, shaking her hand. "I'm Edward's…"

"Fuck him" Rose steps in front of her fiancé to introduce herself. "Rosalie Hale. Agent"

"Rose!" Emmett says, shocked.

"Honey" she says, running her hands through his hair. "You know I love you. You're the father of my son and my future husband. But right now, you're the competition. Step your game up" she says, leading Leah off into a corner somewhere.

"Damn" he mutters, scanning the room. "Christian Bale. I heard he's gonna fire his agent… time to kiss ass. Batman money." he mutters, walking over to the actor.

"Wow" I laugh.

"These are our friends" Edward says, placing a kiss in my hair.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to come backstage with you" Edward apologizes. "I had to stay in my seat."

"I understand" I smile.

"Oh God" Edward huffs, rolling his eyes.

"What?" I ask, laughing at the sudden change of face.

"Look" he says, pointing to the corner.

"Shit" I mutter into his stomach as I see Jessica and Lauren standing in a corner looking at Edward like he's a porterhouse steak (medium well) and looking at me like one wants to kill me while the other digs my grave.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with this shit" Edward says, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Wanna get out of here?" I ask, hugging his chest.

"Absolutely. I have something… or someone… better to do anyway" he says, nibbling on my ear while full on grabbing my ass.

That'll be in the paper tomorrow

"Lead the way Mr. Cullen" I say, as he grabs my hand and leads me back to the limo.

"So…" he starts awkwardly. "How are Rose and Emmett doin?" he asks, rubbing my fingers.

"Great" I laugh. "Rose is always somewhere between horny, hungry and angry. Emmett is just along for the ride" I elaborate.

"So all is forgiven?" he asks, putting me in his lap.

"Yeah" I shrug my shoulder. "I overreacted a little. I just wish he wouldn't flinch every time I moved my arm around him" I say, causing him to laugh.

"So… you don't think it's too fast?" he asks, looking into my eyes, still rubbing my hand.

"No" I shake my head. "When you know, you know. Everyone deserves their happy ending" I say, resting my head on his shoulder.

Why is he asking me this?

"Is he having second thoughts?" I ask, frantically. "If he is, I'll kick his ass for real." I start, feeling my blood start to boil. "I won't go easy on him this time"

"No. No" he say, calming me down. "I just wanted to know" he laughs. "Wait a minute. What you did to Emmett's face was you going easy?" he asks.

"That was a C- ass whooping. I could have done better" I say, honestly.

"Wow" he says, amazed. "What is with you and Rose liking to beat people up?"

"That's what friends do for each other."

"That's not a friendship" he laughs. "That's a gang."

"What if it is? Don't fuck us over" I say, putting my fists up. "I love you" I say, kissing his neck.

"I love you too" "Edward" I say.

"Yeah"

"I'm horny as Hell" I say, my hips moving against his while I move my dress up exposing my shoes.

"You'll be the death of me" he says, taking his tie off, never taking his eyes off of my shoes. "I swear."

"Not is you kill me first" I reply, slipping my dress off.

Don't worry. I kept the shoes on.

Alice POV (WHAAAAT?)

"Everything is fine, Tink" Jazzy says, as the limo pulls up to his house.

I love that nickname

"I'm just nervous, that's all" I say, my foot jumping. This time it was out of nerves and not excitement. "What if they don't like it?"

"They'll love it" he says, rubbing my shoulders, sending a wave of calm over me. I was extremely sensitive about my work. I never thought it would go anywhere. Ever. It was something I did in my spare time. I know I may be seen as ungrateful by most for not embracing this opportunity like I should. But, I can't get over the fear that I'd fail.

Ever since I was little, I could always sense when things were gonna happen. Imagine the irony when I found out I couldn't see myself or my family's reaction when I told them about my gift. Until I told Bella, I'd kept my gift a secret since then.

Bella and Rose are my friends… my best friends if I'm honest with myself. I know that they believe in me. But, just because you want someone to succeed doesn't mean that they have the talent to. I was furious when Bella wore my dress to the premiere. But… it is nothing compared to what I'm feeling right now as I drive home to watch the Fashion critiques on E!.

Those bitches tell it like it is.

I've been in and out of the bathroom hyperventilating all day. I'm surprised I haven't passed out yet. When Jay Manuel called her over, I thought I would have a stroke.

"We're home" Jazzy says, kissing me and pulling me out of my thoughts. "We'll watch it together"

"Okay" I mumbles, changing out of my clothes and into my nightgown and meeting him downstairs. Jasper's gaze at my rack and my chest didn't escape me.

Typical male. I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown and he's eye fucking me.

I love him.

"I love you" he says, patting the part of the couch between his legs as he turns on the t.v.

"I love you too" I kiss him as the show starts.

My stomach is in my throat the entire time they talk about the fashion disasters. Whoever designed Jessica Stanley's dress needs to be shot and not allowed to sew ever again.

That color…it's so bright

They hadn't talked about Bella's outfit and I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

At least she's not nominated for worst dressed.

"The surprise of the evening was definitely Bella Swan" Isaac Mizrahi gushes, as various camera shots zoom over Bella.

"I agree" Joan says. "I was expecting a train wreck. I mean, who can forget those God awful Converses she wore last year. It was horrible" she says, exaggerating her face.

Shit!

"Calm down" Jazz starts, rubbing my back. "It's a warm up."

"I never would have picked gold as a color for her. But it works here" Jay starts. "It was sexy but not slutty" Isaac starts. "Bella is a voluptuous girl. She has hips,

bust, and booty. It would have been very easy for this to look hoochie on her"

"I think it's amazing. She looks fabulous. The cut is just…wow" Joan…compliments. "Definitely my pick for best dressed."

Oh God!

"I mean look!" Isaac starts, grabbing a marker. "The makeup, the hair, that gorgeous dress. Oh my God her boobs looked great" he laughs, grabbing his chest. "But the shoes…." He pauses as a camera zooms on the shoes.

"Shit! They hate the shoes!" I cry, putting my head in my hands. "I knew I shouldn't have used Python!"

"Oh my God!"

"Fabulous"

"Amazing!" Juliana Margulise says, nodding her head.

"If this entire look were a porno, those shoes would be the money shot" Joan says, causing everyone to laugh.

"She can spank and kick me anytime with those shoes" Jay laughs.

"She says the outfit is by a designer called… Alice Brandon. No one even heard of her before tonight" Juliana says, reading from a card.

"I'm very excited about this designer. She also did Bella's Second Chances premiere dress which was gorgeous as well." Isaac gushes and a picture of Bella's premiere dress from Second Chances appear.

"Yeah"

"I'm excited about her. Those designer bitches need some fresh competition" Joan says, before the show goes to commercial.

"Oh my God" I whisper, before going silent.

"See" Jasper smiles. "Halle Berry is on the phone…it's for you."

Soo….


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Thanks to those who reviewed

See ya at the bottom.

I don't own Twilight (btw)

34. Cluster fuck

"Damn, it's hot out here" Edward says, fanning himself with his shirt.

"So take of all your clothes" I answer, channeling my inner Nelly. Edward laughs, putting his arm around me to pose for some pictures.

Don't y'all remember that song?

"Geez" he shakes his head, signing what looks to be a thousand autographs at the same time.

"You're so hot!"

"I love you… like seriously" one girl says, I felt a little awkward looking at her afterwards.

"You're just so…so…oh my God" another says, taking a picture of Edward with her iPhone unexpectedly.

It's like I'm not here.

"You're okay too" his admirer says to me, before turning back over to him and asks him to sign her shirt.

She better not ask him to sign her boobs.

We make our way through the airport, signing autographs before a limo picks us up. Our jet had just landed in the Houston airport. It seems as though the week had passed so quickly. Edward left the next night to go back to shooting. I did the same. Then, we met at LAX to fly to Dallas to do the cameo in Leah Clearwater's movie.

It's been a little stressful.

The script, from what I read is really good. It's good to see a female director not afraid of a little blood. Leah only gave me the portion of the script pertaining to the scene I'm in. So, I have no idea what the movie is about.

"Why is it so fucking hot in Texas?" I ask, getting a bottle of water from the fridge in the limo.

"I wish I knew" Edward answers, rolling the window down before rolling it back up when it made the limo hotter.

"Is the air even on?" I ask.

"You can always take your clothes off" Edward smirks, as his hand sneaks itself up my shirt.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" I giggle softly, raising my eyebrow.

"We've arrived" the sound of the driver's voice says through the intercom as the car comes to a stop.

"Damn it" Edward hisses, ghosting his finger across my nipple. "One of these days, I will have you in a limo" he vows, making me laugh.

"We do always seem to get cockblocked in here" I realize, as his eyebrows raise. "God damn it!" I hear before the door opens. "You're here…finally" Leah says, poking her head in the door. "Come on. Get the fuck out already. We're behind schedule" she huffs, motioning her hands out of the car.

We follow her through the set of what looks like some short of shootout. occurred-with lots of blood and eventually found ourselves in makeup and wardrobe.

"Okay, you two" Leah claps, separating us. "You go over here. You go over there. Separate. Go over your lines. I need you both in the zone. That won't happen if you two…"

"Leah" a tall woman comes says, coming up to her. "What?" Leah answers, annoyed.

"I'm sorry I'm late…"

"Who are you?" Leah replies, confused. "I've dealt with at least 200 people today. It's only 4:00."

"I'm Dana Dugan…"

"Oh" she pauses. "The part in that scene"

"Yeah" she says, smiling.

"Fuck you" she says, turning back to me and Edward. "I don't tolerate tardiness. You've been replaced. Now, get off my set" she dismisses her and goes turns back to us. "What was I saying? Oh… yeah. I need you two…not together until shooting starts. I need it to feel real. I have a feeling if I leave you two alone someone is gonna catch you two fucking… that's not conducive to what I'm trying to shoot. " she says, walking over to the woman in charge of wardrobe.

"Ok" we say, as I feel Edward put his arm around me.

"She's crazy" Edward mouths to me. I nod my head in agreement.

"For Mr. Cullen…I want GQ… but not too GQ. For Ms. Swan, I want…I want…" she starts. "I want trailer trash chic…trailer fabulous" she says, before walking off. "OUT!" she points to Edward.

"Yes, M'am" Edward says, giving me one of those kisses. Yes, sir. "I love you" he whispers against my lips.

"I love you too" I say, going in for another peck before he leaves the trailer.

"I'm a little overzealous" Leah admits, checking a clipboard for something. "Hey" she says after a short silence. "Where is that little person who is with you all the time? Your assistant?"

"LA" I tell her.

Alice has become sort of a hot commodity over the past couple of weeks. Several starlets have asked her to create designs for them. She told me she'd fly down if she could make it. I totally understand.

"Oh" she says, heading for the door. "Don't fuck up."

"I'll try" I promise before she leaves.

She's a weird one

I spend 4 hours in hair, makeup and wardrobe trying to find the perfect "trailer sexy" outfit. Whatever that means. By the time I'm finished, I have raccoon eye makeup, chipped hot pink nail polish, and just fucked hair. Wardrobe finally decided on a cut off shirt that showed off my midriff and my lime green bra underneath along with a blue jean mini skirt.

Alice would shit herself.

I feel like a laugh, so I send Alice a pic of my wardrobe. I get a reply instantly.

**Alice: What the fuck! R they serious?**

** Bella: Yep**

**Alice: Oh God. People are going to see you. **

**Bella: I kinda like it**

**Alice: Have you taken up crack recently? This shit is terrible. **

**Bella: LOL**

**Rose: You look like a crack whore in that pic Alice sent me. LOL**

"Not trashy enough" Leah says, looking me over. "She needs some prostiboots"

"Prostiboots?" I ask, confused.

"You know…boots that make you look like a prostitute" she says, pointing to the wardrobe. "Fix it. You have 5 minutes. Edward is ready"

"Fine" Mona, the head of wardrobe, hisses going into the back. She's back there for a little before giggling in victory coming out with a pair of dark green knee high boots.

Wow.

"Wow" I whisper, putting the boots on. They have gold detailing and closures similar to a military jacket. Plus, the tell tell sky high heel. It's not that high. I'm guessing 5 inches. I'm gonna die in those.

I wonder if Edward will like them.

To add some flair, she makes me wear a thin gold necklace and makeup puts a fake heart tattoo over my right boob.

I look so classy.

"Perfect" Leah says, grabbing my hand and leading me onto the set.

The set looks like some underground room with bad lighting. It's a little scary in an… 'I don't know what could happen' kind of way. These boots are killing me already. So, I sit down to message my calves.

"Damn" I hear Edward moan from behind me.

Really?

"Shut up" I roll my eyes before turning around.

Seriously?

Edward has on a sexy black suit with a white wife beater on under it with some dress shoes.

"Why do you get to look nice?" I grumble in his chest as he engulfs me in a hug. "It's not fair."

"Aww…boo hoo" he makes fun of me, kissing my forehead. "I think it's very becoming."

"Kiss my ass"

"Maybe later" he says, grabbing my ass for good measure.

"God!" Leah huffs, putting her hand between me and Edward's face. "Are you always this horny?"

"Yes" Edward says, reaching his head around Leah's hand and kissing my neck. I nod my head and blush.

"Places" she yells, signaling everyone to get in their spot…in this case me, Edward, and this mystery guy we're supposed to be getting information from.

_Scene opens with Joe opening his eyes in a dimly lit room. He whimpers in pain, trying to get up only to notice that he is bound to the chair._

_"Who's there?" he yells, shaking against the restraints. "Let me out of here!"_

_"No" says a man's voice in the room. "Let's…talk first" he says, throwing what looks to be a doctor's bag on the metal slab next to Joe._

_"You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep fighting the ropes like that" his capture's companion says, coming into the room and throwing her partner an apple. "Don't worry" she giggles, sitting on top of a nearby table and crossing her legs. "We're no…"_

"Cullen… pay attention" Leah shouts, cutting the take.

This is how shooting went. It was…interesting to say the least. We must have done at least 150 takes. Leah kept finding something wrong. It seems like whenever I put my foot up, she'd yell "Cut!" I don't understand. But I think it turned out well.

"It's a wrap for Bellward everybody" she yells, as the crew claps while Edward and I take our bows.

"This was fun" I say, wiping some of the fake blood off of me.

"Thanks for having us" Edward adds, shaking her hand.

"My pleasure" she says, eating a donut. "It's gonna be great. Thanks" she smiles, hugging us. "You two can run off and go fuck now" she laughs, raising her eyebrow as my mouth shoots open and I blush. Edward laughs.

He's such a man.

"I need to go change" Edward says, picking out a wedgie. "This suit is uncomfortable as shit"

"I'm right behind you…right after I pee" I say, grabbing a chicken leg…and a couple hot wings from the catering table and following him off set in search of a bathroom.

When is the last time I ate?

Eventually, I find my destination to find that my makeup has run mostly down my face as a result of sweat. I'm frightened at the first look at myself. I wet some paper towels and wash the makeup off of my face and the tattoo off of my chest. I walk to throw the paper away and come face to face with a newly dressed and obviously hard Edward.

"Hello" I say smiling, stepping back.

"Mmmm" he growls, closing in on me until my back hits the sink.

"What?" I ask innocently, sending him over the edge.

"Oh God" he moans, closing the small gap between us with his lips. I eagerly accept his offering, tangling my hands in his hair as his hands roamed my body leaving a trail of desire in his wake.

I stand there responding to his actions, too paralyzed to do any exploring of my own. I loved this. This hunger… the feeling of being ravished.

I don't even care we're in a bathroom

"Do you have any idea how much I want you right now?" he asks, taking a breath before kissing the spot below my ear that he knows drives me crazy, before lifting me up on the platform. "Do you?" he growls again, unhooking my bra from underneath my shirt and throwing it on the ground.

"Well…" I shriek, feeling his fingers pinch my nipples over my thin shirt, "you can always show me" I tell him, freeing myself from my Edward-induced haze by unbuckling his belt buckle with one hand as Edward chuckles.

"You really shouldn't have said that" he replies, his other hand leaving my breast to roam under my skirt, ripping my panties and scooting me further to the edge.

Yes!

"I'm kinda glad I did" I tell him cockily before I push his jeans down. At this point, I'm feeling particularly bold. So, I take my leg and prop my leg on his shoulder, edging myself closer to dig my heel in his shoulder a little giving him a full view of my soaking pussy… and my boots. "See something you like?" I ask him, following the path of his eyes.

Pussy…Boots….Pussy…Boots

"I see many things I like" he answers, trailing his finger up my thigh slowly while rubbing his cheek against my boot. "Fuck you're so…"

"OH MY GOD!" I hear a voice scream. I turn to see a distraught Leah holding her crotch doing the 'pee dance' while facing the corner.

"Shit" Edward says, pulling up his pants while I put my bra back on under my shirt.

"I'm so embarrassed" I blush, shaking my head.

"I'm so sorry!" all three of us shout.

"My fault…all my fault" she says, still jumping. "God, why am I still in here?" she asks, herself before bolting to the door.

"Oh God" I shake my head in horrification. "I'm so embarrassed."

"I'm…" Edward pauses. "a little thankful, actually. She almost caught us with my face between your legs. That would have been embarrassing."

I don't know why, but I found that statement to be incredibly hilarious. Edward looked at me like I was mental when I started to laugh. Then, he started laughing too.

"I guess she'll knock next time huh?" I laugh.

"I hope so" he giggles.

"Why are we always getting cockblocked?" I ask, my vision getting blurry.

"I was thinking the same thing" he says, laughing hysterically.

"We don't even have any kids."

I guess you have to laugh to keep from crying. After I changed back into my regular clothes, we didn't stay too much longer. We bolted out of there.

"I love you, Bambi" Edward says, pulling me close to him as the limo drives off.

"I love you too, Mufasa" I say, kissing his chin.

"Do I tell you enough?" he asks softly, rubbing my hands.

"Of course, you do" I laugh gently, looking into his eyes. "I've never had to guess" I smile as he goes in for another kiss.

"I just want you to know how much I love you" he says, nuzzling his face in my neck.

"I know, baby. I know" I reply, reaching my hand back to run my fingers through his hair. "You know I love you right?" I ask, half joking.

"Mhmm" he hums against me shaking his head.

"You're the only man who isn't related to me that I've said 'I love you' to" I admit.

"Really?" he asks, after a tender silence. "Not even…you know?"

"Yep" I admit. "I thought it. But I never said it. I feel the constant urge to say it when I'm around you" I tell him, blushing.

"I feel the exact same way" he smiles, tilting my chin to look at me. "You're the first girl I ever introduced to my parents…the first girl I brought home…the first non-Cullen woman that I said 'I love you' to" he tells me.

"I love you" we say at the same time, sharing a kiss as the limo comes to a hault. "I'm glad we got to spend time together before heading back to work. I miss you."

I say, wrapping my arms around him, heading back to the airport.

He smiles that crooked smile and those green orbs light up and I know something is up.

"We're not finished yet" he says, picking me up bridal style and carrying me through the doors. The paps go crazy at the photo opportunity.

"What do you mean?" I ask, kicking my feet.

"We still have two entire days left…not including tonight" he gloats. "We're going on vacation. Everything is worked out. They can last some days without us" he says as we make our way through baggage claim.

"I don't have any…"

"Alice"

"Where are we g…"

"I'm not telling you" he smiles, before heading off to the jet that he chartered for us.

"Please"

"No"

"Hmph" I pout, following after him.

He spends too much money.

After our plane takes off, I try in vain to get the tiniest bit of information on our destination. I gotta give it to him. My man can keep a secret.

"Come on"

"You realize you literally spent the entire plane ride asking me where we're going?" he asks, laughing.

"We're here?" I ask, confused. "Already? "

"Mhm" he says, taking my hand and grabbing our bags leading us off of the plane. "I knew it would be late. So, I picked a place that we wouldn't take forever to get to" he reasons, nodding his head toward the Mexican flag in the airport.

He flew us to Mexico?

"Mexico?" I ask, smiling.

"Cabo" he admits, shrugging his shoulders.

"Thank you, sweetie" I say, hugging him.

The photogs are there, snapping pictures and asking questions as usual. How do they always know where people are? It baffles me. Soon, we're pulling off in a Mercedes McClaren with tinted windows (pic on profile). After that, if someone took a picture I didn't notice.

I hold his hand over the gear shift, as he drives us to our next destination. While he watches the road, I take notice of just how…exquisite he is. The way his emerald eyes sparkle for no apparent reason… or how the glow from the headlights pass over his chiseled features for only a second, highlighting his profile.

Damn

"This is a sexy car" I grin, rubbing my hand up his thigh. "You look even sexier driving it" I tease, messaging his cock through his pants.

"Bella" he growls as the car accelerated faster down the street.

"Huh?" I ask, playing confused. "Did I do something wrong?" I add, kissing my way along his neck while unbuckling his belt. "Watch the road" I giggle, freeing his cock from his boxers, "You don't want to kills us, do you?"

"Shit" he jumps, grinding his hips into my hand as I start to pump him.

"Shh" I whispers in his ear, before I suck his earlobe into my mouth. "Eyes on the road" I say, slowly working him. He squints his eyes, holding the steering wheel until his knuckles turn white.

"Oh" he moans, the vibrations passing along my lips as I hear the engine rev once more. He starts to move his hips faster, trying to increase the friction. I keep my slow pace.

I love that I do this to him. That I can make him so unglued. It makes me feel…powerful.

"Do you like that?" I moan, rubbing my thighs together, seeking a little relief of my own.

"Yes" he grunts out. "Faster"

"Okay" I breath against him, bending my head down, swirling the tip of his cock in my mouth before taking him in completely.

"Go…ah…" he trails off, as I continue my ministrations, him thrusting his hips to meet me at every turn. I massage what I can't fit, enjoying his sounds of pleasure. "Bella" he whimpers, while I pay attention to the vain on the underside of his penis, messaging it with my tongue as my head bobs up.

"Mmm" I moan around him, as one of his hands threads itself in my hair, messaging my scalp.

"Shit" he shrieks, as my movements become faster and he becomes harder than I'd ever imagine in my mouth.

I know that some women don't like to swallow. But, I love every part of my Edward and right now, there is a part of him that I'm particularly craving.

"STOP!" he grunts out, as the car comes to a stop.

"Is there something…" I start before I'm cut off by Edward crashing his lips on mine, invading my mouth with his desire.

"Pants off" he orders, reaching over the console to take my shirt off. "Now!" he growls, as my bra suddenly falls to the floor leaving me shocked. "DO IT!" he yells.

"Yes, sir" I say, making quick work of my jeans, leaving me completely bare in front of him.

He tugs my arm, pulling me over the console to his side of the car, making me hover over him with my back touching the steering wheel. In no time, his lips are back on mine, covering every inch of me in hot kisses, as his fingers go to tweak my already erect nipples.

"You didn't think I was gonna let that fly, did you?" he asks cockily, as he pumps two of his long fingers in my pussy.

"Gah" I shriek as my hips start to move on their own, as the car horn sounds from my back hitting the steering wheel.

"You have all the fun, while I sit there helpless?" he asks, thumbing my clit to create the perfect amount of friction before adding a third finger.

"N…"

"Fuck, you're so wet" he notices, prompting me to look down at the juices flowing down his hand. "You like sucking my cock" he asks, smiling as his fingers disappearing in and out of my pussy.

"Yes" I admit. "I love…ah!" I yell, bracing my hand on the roof as he increases his pace.

"You're so…fuck" he stops himself, before latching his mouth to my nipple and pinching my clit, sending me over the edge.

"Edw…" I pause, breathless riding out my orgasm, holding his head to my chest. I quickly remind myself that he hasn't cum yet, as I push him back on his seat.

I look into his eyes, as I slowly sit on his lap, looking to revel in the sight of taking him inside of me.

"So deep" he growls, his grips tightening on my hips.

"Damn" I moan, while I begin to rock my hips against him. "Edward" I whisper. He slowly begins messaging my hips, hip lips exploring my body, never spending too much time in one place.

"Bella" he groans, as I raise my hips up, leaving only the tip inside me before lowering myself back down on him. We set our pace with him meeting my thrusts, using his shoulders and the headrest as leverage. Neither of us are in a rush to come. We want this to last.

"You feel so good around me" he confesses, running his hands over my now sweat soaked body as my hips quicken their pace.

"God, I love you" I say, as I engulf him in a hug, connecting us chest to chest as I feel a familiar burning in the pit of my stomach. "Oh…I'm about to…"

"I love you. You're so beautiful" he whimpers into my neck, matching my pace. "Let go" he whispers, kissing my neck and sending me into oblivion.

"Edward" I cry, arching my back to sound the alarm again and milking him.

"Shit!" he follows, filling me with his essence.

Still hugging, we sit there catching our breath until Edward kissing my forehead.

"You own me in every way possible" he giggles.

"Same here" I reply, shaking my head.

"If that's the reaction this car gets out of you, I'm buying one the second we get back home" he laughs.

"I wouldn't hate it."

"Look" he shakes his head, motioning for me to look somewhere. "We're here"

"It's beautiful" I say, finally taking note of the fabulous Mexican villa.

"I rarely get to come here" he says, resting his chin on my shoulder. Wait a minute.

"You own this house?" I ask, looking at the large… most likely insanely expensive house.

"Yep" he admits, laughing. "I figured you'd react like that".

"Shut up" I order, laughing with him. "How many more non-U.S. houses do you own?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

"Enough" he says. "They aren't just mine. They're ours" he says, kissing my neck.

Awwww

"You're so sweet" I smile, kissing him tenderly. "I have to pee" I giggle.

We put our clothes back on and find our way inside. The house is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

"Mom decorated" he admits, blushing. "When I showed her the picture, she demanded the right to come and work her magic"

"She did a good job" I tell him, taking in the hardwood floors, large extravagant chandeliers, and sexy kitchen.

I'm hungry.

"When is the last time I ate?" I ask myself, holding my stomach.

"The refrigerator is stocked" Edward says, hugging me from behind.

I decide on something quick. So, I get some popcorn, pretzels, Doritos, and of course, Cheetos.

"Wow" Edward says, as I take all the food and put it on the counter.

"I'm making Bella party mix" I laugh. "Don't kno…"

"Hi guys!" Alice says, literally jumping out of nowhere and scaring the fuck out of both of us.

"Alice?" I ask. "You're…here"

"I know" she says, hugging me and Edward. "I didn't think I was going to be able to make it."

"How'd you get in the house?" Edward asks, seeming extremely interesting. "Well, Jasper told me that you were taking Bella to Cabo and you had a house here. So, I got the address so I could come and surprise you guys…Plus I want to shop and site see… Getting through the gate wasn't as hard as I thought… you need to pick a code that's not some variation of your birthday…then I had to find the key…it wasn't under the doormat or a rock…so I stood on the chair by the front door and found the key on the door frame…again too easy. Then, I made myself a sandwich and worked on some designs until you guys got here." She rambles, before smiling. "You're house is way too easy to break into…I'm surprised it hasn't been burglarized yet… Oh… Rose, Em, and Jazz say Hello"

She didn't even take a breath.

"I'm glad you made it" Edward says, ruffling her hair and receiving Alice's bitch face. "I was trying to think of a way to make Bella go to the spa"

What?

"Yay!"

"You're sending me to the spa?" I ask, on the verge of tears. "I thought you loved me."

"I do love you" he laughs at me, kissing my hair. "I want you to relax. Get a massage or something…my treat. I have plans for us tomorrow" he edges on, giving my ass a quick grab.

"Aww…" Alice coos at us, wiping an invisible tear. "You two are so cute. I wish my Jazzy was here to grope me" she adds with a pout.

"How is everything goin?" I ask, mixing all of my snacks into a big bowl. "Good" she says, smiling. "It seems kinda…surreal" she adds.

"Told ya" I gloat, taking a sip of Coke.

"Designers are making rip offs of those shoes I designed for you at the Globes" she says, grabbing a handful of Bella mix and humming in appreciation. "I don't know whether to be flattered or pissed. I worked hard on those."

"They were sexy" Edward growls playfully from behind me. Alice looks at me and bursts out laughing.

Oh God!

"What?" he asks. "They were."

"Thanks, Edward" she giggles, catching her breathe. "That means a lot…coming from you."

"I don't get it" he says, scratching his head.

"It's nothing" I tell him, as a yawn escapes me.

"Time for bed" he says, putting me over his shoulder and walks with me to the stairs.

"See you guys tomorrow" Alice says, grabbing her purse. "I'm gonna head over to my hotel."

"You're not stay…"

"I'm not that big of a cockblocker" she laughs. "I'll take the car and drive…"

"No" I giggle, smacking Edward's ass. "I don't think you want to take the car."

"But wh…Ewww" she shrieks, shaking her head as she figures out why.

"There is a BMW in the garage" Edward says, taking me upstairs. "or a Mercedes. I can't remember. You can take that."

"Sweet. Thanks" she says, blowing us a kiss.

The master bedroom is a light blue color with hard wood floors, and gigantic French doors that lead to terrace overlooking the ocean.

"Nice" I say, looking around the room as Edward throws our bags by the full length mirror and places me on the bed.

"I'm glad you approve" he says, taking my pants off, before lying on top of me, bracing his weight on his hands. "I'm glad we're getting to do this. I feel like we're always away from each other" he says, kissing my nose.

"I know" I tell him, holding his face in my hands. "I love being with you."

Damn, I love this man

"Let's just be us. Ok?" he says, rolling us over on our sides.

"There isn't any other way" I say, shrinking in his arms.

"I love you" he says, yawning one last time before I hear his breathing even out.

"I love you too" I yawn, feeling my eyes getting heavy.

"Eeeee" I hear the unmistakable shriek of Alice, followed by a stream of ramblings, waking me up. "Shit" I grumble, looking at the clock to see that it's 12 in the afternoon.

It's so early.

I roll out of bed to take a quick shower and put on a pair of yoga pants and a tank to head downstairs.

"What? Where? When?" I hear Alice interrogating Edward. "Oh my…"

"Hi, Bella" Edward says, putting a stack of pancakes and serving of eggs in front of me. "I made breakfast" he kisses me, as I sit down.

"Thank you" I say, digging in.

"5 pancakes, 5 eggs…with extra syrup" he gloats, as I hum in appreciation.

"I appreciate" I say, looking him up and down. "I guess I'll have to find some way to repay you."

"I can think of some…"

"I'm right here" Alice gripes, sipping some orange juice.

"Ugh" I pout, turning to look at the pint-sized menace. "What's on our agenda today?"

"Spa day!" she yells, excitedly. "Then, shopping. It's gonna be so fun"

"Yes" I deadpan, finishing my plate. "Nothing excites me more than paying people an obscene amount of money to rip hair from my vagina…then buy a shit load of clothes I'm only gonna be able to wear once."

"You're such a negative Nancy" she rolls her eyes. "You'll have fun"

"I doubt it"

"For me?" Edward asks, turning the shine on his lovely green eyes extra bright.

Damn him

"Okay" I blush, causing Edward to laugh at me.

"Let's go" Alice yells, pulling my arm to the car… but not before I gave Edward a kiss…and he smacked my ass.

He knows how I like it.

"Wow" I say, hopping in the BMW convertible.

"I know" she says, picking up speed, and therefore reminding me to put on my seatbelt. "Your man has excellent tastes. Cars…houses…"

"Women" I add, giggling.

"Especially women" she says, poking my arm. "Conceited bitch"

"Shopaholic bitch"

"I know" she says, turning at 60 miles an hour. Oh Shit. "This is really nice…what Edward is doing for you"

"I feel so lucky" I admit, resting my head against the headrest. "He's so beautiful…not in just the physical, but his heart. It's like, he time traveled here from the early 1900s or something" I say, shaking my head at my reasoning.

"He's lucky too" she says, pulling into the parking lot of what I guess is the spa. "You're fuckhawt and fuckawesome. You're like…a unicorn" she reasons, shocking me for the second time today. "He'd be an idiot to let you get away. But he's not an idiot" she giggles before mumbling, "obviously."

"I've never been compared to a unicorn before" I tell her, walking through the door to the reception desk.

"Shit!" says the receptionist, in a thick accent. "I love you. Can I have your autograph?"

"Of course" I smile, signing my name for her as well as other patrons and employees before I'm sent to the torture chambers.

Body scrub. Check.

I'm gonna have scabs tomorrow

Wax. Check

How many times in a month is a woman supposed to get that done? I'm surprised my pubic hair even grows back at this point.

Massage. Check

I don't like the idea of a stranger rubbing all over me when all I have to defend myself is a towel. Plus, it might just be me, but my masseuse seemed a little bit too excited.

Eucalyptus Treatment?

In what dimension does someone believe letting a person smack you with a eucalyptus leaf is therapeutic?

Mani and Pedi. Check.

That wasn't so bad. They even massaged my feet.

"Now, for the really fun part" Alice says, walking funny down the street. "Why are you laughing?"

"Why is it that after a girl gets her feet done, she walks like she's navigating a mine field?" I ask.

"Ha ha" she flicks me off, before dragging me down the street to a string of shops. It was pretty much a blur of Gucci, Prada, and other expensive shit after that. She

never stopped, only taking a break from spending money to go put the bags in the car. I finally put my foot down, (my sore foot) when it hit the 4 hour mark.

"Fine. We're done" she huffs, starting the car. "I've never known a woman so against shopping. It's not like you're paying for it" she says.

"Edward paid for this?" I ask.

"Yeah" she laughs, looking at me like I'm stupid. "He said that whole day was on him."

"Alice, we spent too much" I shriek, hearing the shopping bags move around in the trunk.

"Oh my God" she rolls her eyes, making yet another sharp turn. "You guys are loaded. Live a little. Besides, Edward isn't as cheap as you are" she tells me, as she pulls into another parking lot.

"Another spa?" I question, my voice cracking. "I thought we were going home."

"It's not a spa. It's a hair salon" she says, getting out.

"No" I stomp my foot in the car, crossing my arms. "I want Edward. I want to go home."

"It's only…"

"No"

"You got a massage, mani, pedi, got some sexy lingerie, and some cute clothes. We have to finish the day with getting your hair done" she reasons, opening the door. "It's the rules"

"No" I say, shaking my head. "I'm staging a hissy fit"

"Really?" she laughs, sinisterly. "You're staging a hissy fit? Well, I wrote the book on hissy fits. I own the movie rights and Warner Brothers is looking to buy the rights for a movie," she says, tugging my torso. I hold on to the headrest like my life depends on it.

"I wanna go home" I yell, hugging the headrest tighter. "I'm tired."

"Stop being so difficult and get your hair done. I'm trying to help Ed…just get out of the damn car!" she snaps, trying to pry my arms from around the seat.

Good luck

We're so engrossed in our fight that it takes a few minutes for us to realize paparazzi have been filming and taking pictures of the entire thing.

Plus a few bystanders.

"Damn" I gripe, letting her pull me out of the car.

"I knew you'd see it my way" she tells me. "It won't take long. I promise."

Bitch

I do the standard autograph and picture deal, before I sit in the chair and start the torture. It didn't take too long. I was shampooed, conditioned, let under the dryer to rot, trimmed, and styled. It took 2 hours. At the end, my hair was slicked to right side of the head and flowing down the right side of my chest.

"You look so pretty" Alice gushes, checking her watch. "I need to run by the hotel for a quick second. Then, I'll take you home" she says, speeding down the street. "I promise"

"I believe it when I get home" I mumble.

We make it to the hotel, and I'm fucking famished. I look around to find that the only thing in her suite to eat is in the mini fridge. I should eat a $7 Snickers followed by a $9 Coke for pissing me off.

I shouldn't.

"I'm hungry" I whine, looking at the hotel menu.

"No!" Alice shouts, yanking the menu from my hands.

"What n…" I start, before my phone starts to ring. "Hello?" I breath into the phone.

"What's wrong?" Edward asks, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm hungry and my feet hurt. I haven't seen you all day" I complain, sadly. "Alice keeps finding shit for us to do. It's like she's doing it on purpose"

"Yeah. She mentioned you were being particularly hostile towards her…something about a headrest" he adds, sounding confused and amused at the same time.

"You had to be there" I said, looking around for Alice and scoping the room for another take out menu.

"I'm sorry you had a shitty day" he apologizes. "But…I had to keep you occupied so I could get everything ready for tonight"

"Huh?"

"I have plans for us this evening" I hear him gloat. "I couldn't have you here when

I was getting everything ready. It would have ruined the surprise"

"The whole day was a distraction" I say, astonished.

"Yep"

"Alice could have just taken me to a movie or something. She didn't have to run me ragged."

"That's Alice for you"

"What are we…"

"You don't think I'm telling you, do you?"

"It was worth a try."

"Have you eaten anything?" he asks.

"Unfortunately, no. Alice chose to starve me" I enunciate, knowing Alice can hear me. She reaches her hand out to give me the finger.

"Good" he assesses. "Don't eat anything until you get here"

"What?"

"Relax. Everything should be ready by the time you get here" "What time should I…"

"Bye, sweetie" he laughs, hanging up.

If I didn't love him so much…

"Okay" Alice says, slowly reappearing from behind the door. "It's time" she adds, shaking some shopping bags at me.

Oh God

In addition to the torture I'd been through today, Alice decides to have an 80s style clothes montage. I try on most of the clothes we bought today, matching them against various shoes. We (she) decided on a two-tone dress, the top of the dress being black, one shoulder bustier kind of thing, while the bottom, which started at the waist, was more of a greenish gold and cut on a slight angle. She topped it off with some cute strappy Prada pumps with matching earrings (pic on profile).

Then, she did my makeup.

This shit refuses to end

"All done" she says, smiling all kid-like. "You can go now" she tells me as she gives me my purse. "Now, I told the management that you needed to be escorted out safely. Take the car back. I have to leave in the morning, anyway" she gives me orders, smiling and brushing something off of my shoulder.

"O…kay" I say, awkwardly backing towards the door. "See you later" she waves, one hand over her chest.

"Sure" I say, heading towards the elevator

She's weird

The hotel management does their best to conceal me as I move to the car. However, paparazzi are crafty fuckers. Some get through and resume with their aggressive picture taking. I'm a little too weirded out and annoyed to ask particularly pleasant. I smile and make my way to the car and drive off, trying my best not to hit anyone with the car.

I pull up to the house to see that the lights are turned low. I slowly walk inside and see Edward sitting on the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his leg profusely.

"You alright?" I ask, leaning on the doorframe to stare at him.

"Yeah" he answers quickly, shooting out of his chair. "I'm just…wow" he stops, as he takes me in. "You look so beautiful" he whispers, coming over to kiss me. "Amazing" he whispers against my lips. Of course, I blush.

I guess the day of Hell was worth it

"You look pretty sexy yourself" I tell him, running my hands over his chest. He has on a simple blue button down shirt, and black pants. "I missed you…all day" I tell him, as I wrap him in a hug…right before my stomach starts to growl. "The moment is ruined" I say, blushing this time from embarrassment.

"It's okay" he laughs, leading me into the kitchen. "I figured you'd be hungry so…" he leads off, waving his arms around the kitchen doing his best Vanna White impression.

"Edward…" I pause, covering my mouth to look at the site before me. "It's beautiful" I add, before placing kisses all over his face.

There is food everywhere. Seafood…Italian food…Mexican food…soul food…steak… all the great side dishes that make America great. The entire table in the kitchen is filled with plates and bowls of deliciousness.

You wanna know the best part?

No salad

He knows me so well

"Did I do a good job?" he asks, kissing my neck.

I nod my head and lean into his touch. "There is a tiny spirit child in my stomach crying tears of joy…and tying a bib on as we speak."

"I've been working all day" he says, proudly. "I got my mom's fried chicken and mashed potatoes recipe, your mom's macaroni and cheese, stuffing, and gravy recipe. Then, I got the rest of the recipes from the Food Network" he smiles, earning a kiss.

"You didn't have to do all of this" I tell him, motioning to our very own all you can eat buffet. "But…I'm glad you did" I laugh. "Thank you. You're so wonderful" I kiss him.

"I try" he says, leading us outside.

"Baby" I whisper for the second time in two minutes, looking at a site more breathtaking than the last. "Wow" I say, leaning into his chest.

The entire back yard is filled with dim lighting. Most of it glows from the lights under the water of the pool, creating a blue-like glow. Also, there is a small table with two chairs overlooking the fabulous view of the ocean at night.

"Let's eat" he says, rubbing my stomach. "I know you're hungry."

He didn't have to tell me twice. It took me ten minutes to make my plate. I wanted to have the best of all the food types. But, there was limited plate space. I felt like I was playing Tetris… but with food.

"It looks good" I smile, rubbing my fingers, looking at him from across the table. Suddenly, it felt too far away. I take my plate to his side of the table and sit in his lap. "I'm sitting here" I tell him, before I feed him a piece of my steak. Did I mention that he wrapped it in bacon?

Yes. He did.

"Fine by me" he licks his lips before staring down my shirt. I shimmee in reaction, causing him to jump.

"I caught you staring" I laugh, shrugging my shoulder. "Perv."

"Kettle" he replies, feeding me a nice-sized spoonful of mashed potatoes with bits of salmon and macaroni. It was the perfect bite. We continue eating and enjoying being together with no one looking at us under a microscope.

"We're sitting here feeding each other" I say, smiling. "This is so fucking romantic" I point out, looking around my surroundings.

"I'm glad you think so" he laughs at me, before going in for a kiss. I grant it, of course. "I love you"

"I love you too"

"It's hard to think that you know… 12 years ago we met in the gym at Forks High School. Now… it's just…hard to imagine that this is all real" he says, wiping his forehead with his hand.

"I know" I say, hugging his neck. "It's kinda like a fairytale… a little" I say, kissing his cheek. "I wish that I knew you back then. I could have saved myself a lot of shit."

"I should have asked you to Homecoming" he laughs, shaking his head.

"I would have said, 'yes.'" I start. "I would have jumped you in the car" I giggle.

"I would have refused."

"Really?"

"I would have asked you to be my girlfriend first. I liked you too much to just fuck you in the back seat of my car. Then, I would have let you jump me."

"High school Edward…such a charmer" I laugh.

"We would have been those annoying couples that ate lunch together all the time" he says, putting a strand of hair behind my ear. "I would have given you my letterman jacket."

"It would have been cooler than my army jacket" I admit.

"Personally, I thought that jacket was rather sexy" he says, kissing my neck. "We probably would have gotten 'cutest couple'…Ewww" I shake my head, in disgust.

"I would have gotten in fights, protecting your honor" he says.

"I would have followed you to Dartmouth" I tell him, looking into his eyes.

"I would have followed in my dad's footsteps and became a doctor" he kisses me.

"I'd be a… teacher" I say, nodding my head.

"Kids are cool"

"Really?" he asks, rubbing my stomach.

"Yeah" I say, running my fingers through his hair. "It's funny how life turns out isn't it?"

"It sure is" he says. "You ready for desert?"

"Well" I say, creeping my hand up his shirt.

"Real desert" he laughs, rolling his eyes.

"Oh" I blush, a little embarrassed. "I guess so."

He goes in the back, coming out with two bowls. I look at its content and am filled with excitement…followed by anger.

"Gran gave you that fudging recipe and not me…or mom?" I ask, crossing my arms

He even brought out the big spoons.

"Yep" he says, blushing. "I kept messing it up. I had to call her and ask her to talk me through it. It's really hard to make" he laughs, nervously.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, feeling his head. "You're sweating."

"I'm fine. It's just a little hot out here" he tells me, taking a sip of water.

"Alright" I say, eyeing him suspiciously. "I can't believe she gave it to you and not me. That's such bullshit" I say, grabbing my spoon and laughing.

"No!" he says, grabbing my hand. "not yet"

"O…kay" I say, putting the spoon down.

"Bella" he says, slowly getting up and wiping his forehead. "I love you. And I w-need to the restroom" he says, getting up and heading inside.

I hope it's not something I ate too. I don't want to spend the rest of the night on the shitter.

I start to dig back in to my plate, avoiding all of the foods that Edward ate. I bet it's the sausage ravioli that fucked his stomach up. Then, as if it's a sign from God, a gust of wind blows over me and wafts the smell of fudging into my nose. I want to wait for Edward. I really do. Then, another gust of wind comes, giving me another smell of fudging.

One spoonful won't hurt. He won't even notice.

I take one of the big spoons, taking a decent sizes portion, before smoothing it back over to where you can't tell. It's a good thing he didn't put whip cream on it. I place the spoon at my lips, humming in anticipation as I see Edward come back into view. I quickly stuff the spoon in my mouth, licking it clean before placing it back on the table. I wipe my mouth and swallow the evidence, finding a childish pleasure that I didn't get caught, even though Edward punishing me for being bad wouldn't be such a bad thing. However, the pleasure is short lived when I realize that I can't breathe.

I try to cough, thinking a chunk of chocolate is stuck in there. That normally works.

Nothing

I pound on my chest, only to find that the object has now slid further down my throat to cut off more air.

Shit

Now, I'm scared. I stand up, coughing, and pounding to find that nothing is working.

Cough.

Nothing.

Pound.

Nothing.

Cough and pound.

Nothing.

Jump.

Nothing

Jump, Cough, and Pound.

I look up to see Edward talking to himself in the mirror. I would have been a little troubled...had I not been choking.

Oh God. Please don't let me die eating.

"Edwar…" I choke out pitifully, walking to the door. In my frenzy, I knock on the door to get his attention. He looks at me, gives me a crooked smile and walks to the door.

He's walking too fucking slow.

Still looking at the door, I grab the first thing my hand touches and throw it against the door, cracking it a little. That gets his attention.

"Bella?" he asks, speeding up.

"Edwa…" I choke out again, pointing to my throat while coughing, pounding, jumping.

At this point, I'm beginning to feel light headed. I feel my knees buckle as Edward's arms engulf me to give the Heimlich maneuver.

"Come on…come on… cough it up…God damn it, Bella" he says, pumping my stomach with every fragmented sentence.

The pressure builds in my throat, before expelling the foreign objecting which lands in the water with a soft *plink* sound.

"Damn" I say, rubbing my throat. "That was a big chocolate chunk in that fudg…"

"Shit!" Edward yells, jumping into the water.

Huh?

He's swims in the pool for a good five minutes before coming back up. He stands up, his auburn darkened by the water and pooling around his eyes and slowly turns to look at me.

"Sorry" I say sheepishly, looking at my feet.

"Are… you…okay?" he asks, taking breaths after every word.

"Yeah" I mumble, still looking down. "I'm just…horribly embarrassed" Then, he laughed at me.

"Come here" he says, pulling me into a hug and kissing my hair. "Life is never boring with you" he says, kissing me. "Let's get inside"

As a result of Edward being wet and getting me wet, literally this time, we agree to change into pajamas and just watch t.v. I put on my Wonder Woman pajama tank/panty set and go downstairs to find a newly dried Edward with sleep pants and no shirt on.

I love it.

"You know I have a thing for Wonder Woman" Edward says, stalking over to me.

"Do you now?" I coyly ask, putting my fists on my hips in the standard superhero pose.

I wish I bought some red boots…and a lasso.

"Mhmm" he says, grabbing my waist and kissing down my neck. "Have you been bad?" I ask, pushing him on the couch.

"It depends" he replies, spreading himself out. "What's the punish…"

"Yaaaaaay!" Alice shrieks, before blowing a kazoo and throwing a handful of confetti in the air.

Not the paper kind…the glittery kind.

"What?"

"Oh God" Edward face palms himself.

"When I found out, I couldn't stay away" she gushes. She runs over to me and starts jumping up and down. "Let me see! Let me see!"

"Huh?"

"Alice" Edward says calmly, gaining her attention. He shakes his head slowly. She gasps, grabs her chest and gives the scariest bitch face I'd ever seen.

"You…said…no?" she asks me, pinching my arm. "Why?"

"What are you…"

"You're making a huge…horrible…terrible…mist…"

"SHUTUPALICE!" Edward rushes, standing in front of her. "She doesn't know what you're talking about" he stresses each word. Suddenly her face shows understanding.

"Oh…OH...Oh…sorry" she says, backing away from us. "I have to go…not be here…and pack…yeah" she says, before running to out the door and driving off in a cab.

"That was awkward…even for Alice" I say, staring out the door. I'm not in the mood anymore. "This day has been an epic clusterfuck" I laugh, snuggling into his side.

"Wouldn't I know it" he agrees, putting his arm around me. "We won't have one normal day, will we?" he asks.

"With our profession…our friends…our families…well _my_ family…I'd say no" I laugh, kissing him.

"You're right" he says, standing in front of me now. "Bella…" he starts, taking a big breath. "12 years ago, I saw you biting your nails in a broken down Chevy and I knew that I had to know you. I never got the courage to talk to you. But…from what I did see, I found that not only were you beautiful, but you were funny…and smart…and witty…and you didn't care what anyone thought of you. I never really stopped thinking of you or what we could have had or stopped kicking myself for letting you get away. But, when I really got to know you, I discovered that you were more than I'd ever observed or imagined," he says, getting down on one knee.

Oh,God.

"Oh,God" I whisper, as a single tear falls down my cheek. "Edward."

"Bella Swan, you are so much more than I'm worthy of. I love your laugh…your smile…everything about you. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I want to have children with you. I want to grow old and crotchety with you," he laughs. "You don't know how long I've waited for you. Will you marry me?" he asks, kissing me hand.

"Yes" I whisper, kneeling on the floor with him. "Yes" I say again, planting my lips on his and feeling him smile against me. "Yes."

I can't stop saying it.

"Damn" he says, shaking his head.

What?

"I forgot to give you the ring" he laughs, and goes upstairs. He skips back down the steps and stands before me. "Will you close your eyes for me, Mrs. Cullen?" he asks. I smile and oblige his request.

I feel his lips kiss my ring finger before I feel him slip the ring on my finger.

My finger feels…heavy

"I don't want any lip" he laughs, kissing my lips. "Open."

"Damn" I say, taking in the sight of the rock on my finger. "Wow" I say, looking at the ring shimmer in the light.

It's so…big

"This is…"

"My grandmother's ring" he tells me, gloating. "So, you can't complain about how much it costs because it's free."

"Wow" I smile, kissing him. "No complaint"

"It's free" I say, shrugging my shoulder. "I love it. Thank you" I say, kissing him again. "I love you so much" I cry.

"Don't cry" he says.

"Happy tears" I wave him off, wiping my face with my tank top and probably flashing him.

"Those are the only kind you'll cry" he says, picking me up in his arms.

"Edward, what's that?" I ask, pointing to the blue thing in the middle of my ring.

"It's a diamond."

"It's a diamond…inside of a diamond?" I ask, confused.

"When you say it like that, you make it seem ostentatious" he laughs.

"This is kinda boss. I won't lie" I say, kissing his neck as he carries me upstairs.

"Okay, fiancé'" he announces, as he lays me on the bed. "It's time for engagement s…"

He didn't even finish his sentence before I was naked on the bed.

I'll give you two guesses what happened next.


	26. Chapter 26

**EPOV**

"Damn it, Alice" I hear Bella shout, waking me up. "Why are you being so negative?"

"Why are you being so…so…so…ugh?" Alice shouts back.

Curiosity gets the best of me and I walk downstairs to see the pair arguing. Alice has her arms crossed and Bella is throwing her arms around vigorously. The glare from her ring lights up the room with every flick of her wrists.

Yep. That's all me

Both ladies look rather pissed. Bella is in her underwear and her hair is wrapped up in rollers as Alice is measuring Bella for her gowns…again. I thought Bella was exaggerating when she told me that Alice measured her at least 20 times for her Golden Globes dress. Now that I'm here to actually witness it, I'd say it's more like 30.

"I personally think it's a unique idea" Bella rolls her eyes, as she puts her hands up.

"I would expect something like this from Emmett. But, you? It's your wedding!" Alice shouts, measuring Bella's inseam.

"Exactly" she says. "I think that I deserve some input. Why are we even discussing this anyway?" she asks. "Edward and I just got engaged."

"It's been three weeks" Alice adds. "You two need to start deciding shit like this."

"Decide what?" I ask, taking a pear out of the bowl of fruit and biting it.

"Alice has appointed herself 'Chief Wedding Coordinator'." Bella pouts, crossing her arms. "We're one conversation in even discussing ideas and she's already crushing my dreams."

"They're stupid, Bella" Alice says, writing down Bella's measurements. "I hate to be a bitch. However, I must put my foot down. I can't in clear conscience organize what you're asking."

"What is she asking?" I ask, curiously.

"Edward, Alice won't let me…"

"Your fiancé' wants a moon bounce at your reception" Alice deadpans.

What?

"Seriously?"

"I know" Bella smiles. "Awesome right?"

"Bambi" I start slowly, wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her neck. "Aren't we a little too old for a …"

"I told you" Alice interrupts, smiling.

"Come on" Bella says. "I already conceded my amusement park idea"

"Huh?"

"She wanted to get married at Disney World" Alice laughs.

"Another awesome idea she stomped the life out of" Bella gripes, eating a strawberry from my hands before placing a chaste kiss on my lips. "I love you"

"I love you too" I smile, as she hugs me tightly and smells my neck. "But, let's talk these things out together. Okay?" I ask, carefully.

I'm not that into wedding details. But I must admit that Bella's ideas haven't been that great.

"Fine" she huffs. "I admit. My Disney World and moon bounce ideas are left over elementary school."

"You've been planning your wedding that long?" I laugh.

"Edward" Alice rolls her eyes. "Every girl starts to plan their wedding in elementary school. All I have to do is insert the groom and monogram the towels and invitations" she says.

"Well, I'm sure our wedding would have been the event of the year… if we were in the 1st grade" I say, kissing her hair.

"Kiss ass" she giggles against my neck. "Besides, we just got engaged. We have time to think everything out."

"Can we decide something?" Alice asks, awkwardly. "I need something to report to Renee."

"You called my mom?" Bella asks, turning her head to Alice.

"Hey!" Alice raises her hands in surrender. "She called me"

"How did she even get your…" she starts before facepalming herself. "Dad"

"I must say, your dad sounds hot over the phone" Alice laughs. Bella punches her in the boob. "Your mom is crazy" she laughs.

"I know" Bella and I laughing in unison, no doubt thinking about when we told her we were engaged.

_Flashback_

_"Hey fiance'" Bella says, placing kisses on my face._

_"Yes, Ms. Cullen?" I ask, kissing her ring and causing her to blush and giggle. I just proposed to Bella last night, after a monumental fuck up on several __accounts. Even though none of it went as planned, she said yes. I can't wait to tell this story to our kids. We'll just leave out the several rounds of hot tantric money sex we had later. I'll say we went out for ice cream._

_"I'm gonna go Skype my mom" she says, easing out of the bed. She puts on one of my t shirts and sits at the screen to dial her mom._

_"I'll take a shower. You'll probably need some mother/daughter time" I tell her, heading into the bathroom._

_"Bella?" I hear a voice from the speakers in the room. "Bella? God damn it. I can't see any…oh! Hey sweetie. Did you redecorate? It looks nice" Renee says._

_"Hey mom" my angel laughs softly. "How are you? How's dad and everyone?"_

_"Rude and crazy as usual" Renee says. "Although, your daddy has been acting a little weird since you and Edward visited. I think it's Manopause"_

_"Mom" Bella sighs. "Men don't go through a menopause period."_

_"Not that we know of"_

_"Anyway" Bella says. "I have something to tell you. It's kind of important."_

_"Oh my God" I hear a gasp. "You're pregnant!"_

_I cover my mouth with my hand so she can't hear me laughing at her._

_"Mom"_

_"Oh honey, I'm so happy" I hear Renee get choked up. "She's gonna be so beautiful… with your lips, his eyes…and your nose… you have the cutest little nose… and his hair…and your body. She's gonna be unstoppable" she says, excitedly._

_"Mom!" Bella interrupts. "I'm not pregnant. Edward and I aren't even…"_

_"Oh my God" she says again, this time shocked. "He dumped you, didn't he?"_

_"Mom"_

_This is getting hilarious._

_"Fuck him, then. He doesn't know what a catch you are. He can't handle a woman like you. He just couldn't handle the Swan essence. His loss….what a pussy"_

_Ouch_

_"Mom" Bella laughs._

_"I bet his mom is a bitch too"_

_"Mom" Bella says. I imagine she's shaking her head. "Esme is a nice lady. I'm __trying to…"_

_"Don't defend her, Bella" Renee says._

_"He what?" I hear Charlie yell in the background._

_"Dad?" Bella asks, a little scared. "What are you doing?"_

_"I'm packing" Charlie says, in a stern voice. "I'm gonna kill that little shit."_

_ Oh God. Please, no._

_"Dad. That isn't necessary"_

_"What do you mean it isn't necessary?" he asks, as I hear the sound of something hitting the ground. "I have to keep my word."_

_"I'm not pregnant. I'm not single. I'm ENGAGED!" she yells. "I've been trying…"_

_"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Renee yells, and starts clapping. "I'm the Mother of the Bride. I knew it. I knew it the whole time. I knew he was the one" she backtracks. "Show it to me" she orders. "Ooooh" I hear two seconds later. "Is that a diamond inside of a diamond?"_

_"Yeah" Bella giggles._

_"Dayum" Charlie says. "That's a lot of love"_

_"Ahhh, sweetie" Renee' sniffles. "He put a ring on it. Now, we're gonna get grandbabies."_

_"I'm not pregnant."_

_"Yet."_

_"Bye mom"_

"Anyway" Alice says, interrupting my flashback. "She wants me to keep her up to date on all the arrangements since she doesn't live in California."

"Do you realize what you've done?" Bella asks, taking a vine of grapes from the fruit bowl. "We've only been engaged for 3 weeks."

"You two bicker like you're married" I laugh at them and duck when Alice throws a pen at me. "Do you remember what happened last time?"

"Shut up!" they yell in unison as Bella blushes.

The day Bella and I got back from Cabo, Emmett and Jasper met us at the airport to show us the latest YouTube sensation entitled, "Bella Behaving Badly." Someone videotaped Alice and Bella arguing outside of a hair salon the day I proposed to Bella. Bella said something about a hissy fit while little Alice yelled at her while trying to pry Bella's hands away from the headrest. It was in the top 5 most watched videos on YouTube for a week.

"How're the measurements going?" I ask Alice, as she writes something down. "Good" she says, shaking her head. "Once again, Bella has astounded me with her ability to eat like a maniac and not gain any weight" she finishes causing Bella to pat her stomach.

"Shouldn't you be getting to your other clients?" Bella says, nudging her shoulder. "Today is like Prom in Hollywood"

"Yeah" she says. "You get special treatment, though" she laughs as Bella puts her palm over her heart.

"Awww"

"I don't have to make any alterations to the dresses. So, we're good" Alice starts packing her stuff. "Edward, your tux was finished yesterday. You'll love it. I'll see you guys later. This was the easy part of the day. Halle Berry gained at least 3 pounds since her last fitting. It's gonna be hell altering that dress now."

"You'll do fine" I say, ushering her out the door.

"Good morning, handsome" Bella says, throwing her arms around my neck and giving me a kiss.

"A good morning indeed" I smile against her lips, as I set her on the kitchen counter.

"Someone has a big night tonight" she smiles, running her hands over my chest. "Are you nervous? Scared?"

"Nope" I tell her, as I scoot her ass closer to the edge of the counter. "You? I know you have to sing."

"Ugh" is her reply, before she places her face in the crook of my neck. "I don't wanna"

The Oscars are today which means that everyone has been an emotional wreck all week. The nominations were announced shortly after we got back. We both were nominated. Bella refuses to acknowledge it because she knows Natalie Portman has it in the bag for Black Swan. However, a song from Time was nominated for Best Song. It is custom for each song nominated to be sung live which is why she's nervous. She tried to get out of it.

No dice, there

"You'll do fine" I ease her, while running my hand to the clasp on her bra. "You're just trying to get laid" she breathes, kissing along my neck.

"Is it working?" I ask, as her bra drops to the floor and I start to kiss along her chest.

"Mhmm" she moans, before I tweak her nipple with my thumb and forefinger. "Oh, yes" she says, taking my pajama pants off along with my boxers.

I'm the luckiest fucker alive

"What the Hell, you guys?" Alice asks from the doorway in our bedroom.

"You're ruining their post fuck glow" I hear Rose say, shortly before I hear the noise of what sounds like a can of Pringles being opened.

"I just bought those" Bella gripes, before kissing me.

"Your rollers" Alice says, throwing a roller at us.

"I like it when Edward can pull my hair" Bella replies, kissing my throat. "They were in the way."

"15 minutes" Alice orders, before shutting the door.

"I'm getting the locks changed. They have too much access to my house" Bella deadpans, snuggling further into my chest.

"Or…" I start off slowly. "We can buy a new house…together" I finish, kissing her. "Really?" she asks, sitting up. "You want to buy a house with me?"

I'd been thinking about it since we got back from Cabo. It would be nice to have a place that wasn't hers or mine…but ours. It seems like a good time since we're getting married anyway.

"Actually, I want to buy you a house" I laugh, poking her stomach. "What's wrong with the house we have now?" she asks, looking around. "Nothing. I just think we should buy a house that's ours" I tell her. "You tend to

forget that I don't live here."

"You might as well" she says.

"What do you say?" I ask, tickling her.

"I'm gonna have to sell this place" she looks around. "at a loss" she finishes with a shocked voice.

"Aww" I pout.

"Nothing too outrageous" she points her finger at me. "I swear, if you buy a 9 bedroom /12 bathroom monstrosity, I'll beat the shit out of you"

"Is that a yes?" I ask, smiling.

"Yeah" she smiles, going in for a kiss.

"Okay" Alice barges back in. "Edward. Out!" "No" Bella mumbles into my chest.

"Come on" Alice says, clapping her hands. "I have to get you guys ready for the carpet and sew your dresses.

"Why do I need two dresses anyway?" Bella asks, crossing her arms.

"One for the carpet and awards, and another for your performance. The dress for the song has to be goth chic to go with the tone of the song and movie" she says, excitedly. "Now out!" she says. "It has to be a surprise"

"Fine" I gripe getting out of the bed. "I'll be back later"

"Okay" she blushes, before giving Alice the stink eye when she yanked her out of bed.

"Dude" Emmett says, closing in for a hug when I walk through my door.

"Where are your pants?" I ask him, putting my arms out.

I'm not hugging a man with no pants on/

"You know Rose and I got a house together right?" I nod my head. "Well, her hormones have been making her act extra insane…cause Bean is due like any day now. She kicks me out of the house at least twice a week. So, I come here to sleep because I gave up my apartment" he rolls his eyes.

"If I were you, I'd make him pay rent" Jasper says, as he hangs up the phone. "He even stocked the fridge."

"Why didn't you ask, man" I ask him, laughing.

"I knew you'd say yes" he shrugs his shoulders.

"How's it goin?" I ask, taking a piece of pizza from a box and promptly spitting it out when I bite it. "How long has this been here?"

"Splendid" Emmett jokes.

"Shitty" Jasper says. "Alice has been acting like a crackhead on steroids the past week, trying to get all of the dresses ready. On top of that, I've been getting at least 20 calls a day with questions about Bella's ring like I'm gonna slip up and change the story."

On the plane ride back, Bella and I realized that we wouldn't have a moment of peace once the press found out about the engagement. So, we made a decision that Bella would wear the ring on her right hand instead of her left. That way it looks like a ring with a diamond…and not a diamond ring. Only our closest friends and families know we're engaged. We'd like to keep it that way.

"Sorry" I say, going to look for some mouthwash to take care of that old pizza taste.

"It's cool. They aren't getting shit out of me" Jazz laughs, and grabs a bottle of water.

"Something came in the mail for you like 3 days ago." Em says, eating a handful of pretzels.

Where did those come from?

"What is it?" I ask.

"Let me see" he says, looking around the living room. "It's around…" he adds, looking in the couch cushions, before looking under the couch, "here!" he screams in victory and blows dust off of it and hands it to me. "I think you'd approve" he smiles as I read the title.

Shit

"Shit" I whisper excitedly.

"I know" he giggles. "I was sure you fucked your opportunity for this during the whole Lauren/Aro thing. But… the odds seem to be with you on this" he says, as I start to read the first page.

Lions & Lambs. The project had been floating around for about a year. It's about a Nazi who fell in love with a Jewish captive during the Holocaust. From what I heard, many actors wanted the lead role. I included myself in that category. I remember Aro mention it before. I just assumed I burned that bridge when I wouldn't go along with his plans.

"This kind of script gets actors little gold statues" Jasper says, sitting on the couch next to Emmett.

"I don't care about statues. I want it because it's great."

From then on, I didn't pay attention to anything anyone said. I was too engrossed in the story I was reading. It had action. It had drama. It had love. It was everything. It was sad as shit, though. I'd never been so excited at the possibility of being cast in a movie as I was now.

"Hey!" Emmett shouts, smacking me on the head. "

Ouch!" I say, throwing the script at him.

"It's time to get ready. You need to be at Bella's in like an hour…or 45 minutes…or hour and a half. I forgot" he says, checking his phone. "an hour… definitely an hour" he tells me, as Jasper throws a suit bag in my lap.

I go take a shower and get ready. I'm a guy so that's about as much as I do. Besides, I don't have to put that much into my appearance since people like the whole, 'I just got out of bed' look on me.

I have no idea why.

"Okay pretty boy" Em says, shutting the door to the limo. "We'll see you later" I flick him off and drive away.

It's a pretty lengthy drive to Bella's house because of traffic to and from the awards. Eventually, I arrive and head into the house.

"I can't wait to get this baby out of me" I hear Rose huff from downstairs. "He's been tap dancing on my bladder for the past 2 months"

"It'll be worth it, though" Alice says. "I wish you were having a girl. I wanted to make a baby dress" I can almost hear her pout.

"Bella…"

"We've only been engaged 3 weeks, Alice," Bella laughs. "Besides, I don't think you can dictate what you grow in your womb anyway."

"You don't think about it, though?" Alice asks, as I slowly make my way upstairs to make it easier to eavesdrop on their conversation. "A mini Bella… that did and said inappropriate things at inappropriate times just like her mommy?"

I think about it…all the time. I'm not getting any younger. I want to start a family.

"Of course, I think about it" I hear Bella say. "Of course, I want to have kids with Edward. I wouldn't be marrying him if I didn't. I'm gonna be thirty this year. No kid wants the old mom at the parent/teacher conference" she laughs lightly. "I want a boy though. Sorry Alice"

"Hmph"

"Do you ever think about Cam…"

"Hey, ladies" I interrupt Rose, making my entrance. I don't think now is the time to be bringing this topic up in conversation.

"No!" Alice screams, trying her best to cover up Bella's dress. "She's not quite ready yet."

"Out!" Rose points to the door. "She'll be ready in five minutes."

"Fine," I huff, going downstairs.

She's never ready on time.

"Hello, Mr. Cullen" I hear her unmistakable voice whisper from behind me. "I'm ready."

"Are you now?" I say, as I turn my head to see her dress.

Oh Hell no

I'm not saying the dress is slutty. It's not by a long shot. It's black and formfitting. The bottom of the dress flares out a little and it's made out of a pretty fabric with a nice design. It's just the top of the dress…with a slit that goes down the middle…not down the entire middle... But, it leaves a little cleavage. I bet if you tried really hard, you could see something. You can't really see anything. It just…it's just… (pic on profile)

People…men… are going to be looking at her

Shut up!

"Are you okay?" Bella asks, waving her hand in my face. "Uh huh" I say, slowly nodding my head.

"Alice has outdone herself this time" Rose pops in, rubbing her belly. "Mhmm" I say, staring at the slit in that damn dress.

"Look" Rose giggles, pushing Bella's dress up to show her

Oh my God

Bella has on some really high black silk hells. The bottoms soles are silver with a 'P' on them.

Sexy

"Shut up" Bella rolls her eyes, pulling her dress down. "I have to go potty" she adds, running to the bathroom.

"Rose?" I ask. "What the Hell?"

"What?" she answers, seeming confused. "What's wrong?"

"Her dress" I shriek. "It needs at least a half inch of fabric…only a half inch."

"Are you fucking insane?" she asks, slapping my head. "You can't see anything. You're overreacting. Your caveman is showing"

"People are going to look at her"

"People with eyes tend to do that" she retorts, laughing at me. "It's just…"

"Edward, Bella is sexy" Rose rolls her eyes. "Everyone knows it. Get over yourself" she finishes, as Bella walks back from the bathroom. "Wait till you see the performance dress"

"Okay. Now, I'm ready" she says, hugging my side.

"I can't wait to get this over with" I say, trying to loosen my tie.

"I'm scared" she mumbles, looking at the ground. "What if I forget the words? Or fall? Or curse on stage?" she questions. "So much can go wrong"

"You'll do fine" I kiss her on her forehead, causing her to giggle. Is she wearing a bra with this dress?

"Are you cold?" I ask her taking off my jacket. "I'm a little cold."

If she has my jacket on, no one can see.

"I'm okay" she says, running her hands through my hair. Damn it

"Are you okay?" she asks. "You're acting weird"

"I'm fine" I say. "I'm just…taking in the fact that every man will be staring at you" I tell the truth…in a somewhat humorous way. I'm hoping she won't see through it.

"Awww" she coos, biting my ear. "You know you're the only man I want staring at me" she smiles, as the car comes to a stop. "Here we go" she says, getting out of the car.

"Over here"

"Edward, how are you feeling tonight?"

"Show us that ring, Bella!"

"To the left"

"Are you two tying the knot?"

"How far along are you, Bella?"

"Over here!"

I tune out most of the sound and focus on signing autographs and smiling whenever I could. Normally, I'd be miserable. With Bella at my side, it felt a lot better. We each do photos together, and eventually, the fashion people drag Bella away to talk about her outfit. I'm so glad I don't have to do that shit. After a while, we're seated and ready for the show to start. Soon, the lights dim and the hosts come out.

The first half of the awards, they give out awards that no one outside of Hollywood knows about. As the show went on, I notice that Bella's hand started getting sweatier and sweatier.

"Bambi" I whisper in her ear. "It's going to be okay"

"Oh God" she whimpers. "They're gonna call me back there any minute. It's gonna be so bad, Edward…so bad. I can feel it. I'm not a singer" she says, fanning herself and looking around like she's scared something is going to come and eat her.

"It's just your nerves" I say, lightly kissing her neck. "It's one song. It will be over before you know it."

"I don't want to…"

"They'll sue you" I tell her, knowing that if I pull on how cheap she is, she'd cave. "for millions"

"For mill…"

"Miiiiilllllllions" I draw the word out, as someone from backstage taps Bella on her shoulder.

"Ms. Swan" she says, pointing to the back.

"Okay" Bella says, looking at the ground before following her backstage.

As it signals, that we're coming back from commercial, my phone starts to vibrate.

Bella: I'm gonna make a run for it

Me: MILLIONS! Bella: Damn it

"Singing a song from the hit musical Time, here is Bella Swan" an announcer as Bella walks out on stage.

Daaaaayum!

She has on a red dress with some flowery foldy stuff going up the side of it and a huge black necklace. Then, she started walking.

Why is that slit so high?

Seriously. It goes all the way up her thigh.

Look at those boots!

They're black and what looks to be leather and go to mid thigh. Jesus!

Thanks Alice

Then, the man who plays her love interest, whose name escapes me because he isn't important, comes on stage.

He totally fucked her with his eyes. Mine!

I shake the thoughts from my head as the music starts to play. Bella's eyes are as big as saucers as she scans the crowd.

"It's okay" I mouth as I meet her eyes. She closes her eyes and sings the first note.

"Thank you" she smiles and waves, as the crowd cheers. I stand up to clap for her, causing others to as well. Eye Fucker walks her offstage.

Did he just caress her back?

After that, the show flew pretty quickly. Colin Firth won for The King's Speech and Natalie Portman won for Black Swan. I couldn't really be mad. He did a great job. Hopefully, I could network about the Lions & Lambs script at the after party. I'd be done with Inception soon and this would be an excellent follow up.

Walking to the car, I notice Bella looking around and rubbing her stomach. "Hungry?" I ask, rubbing her stomach.

"Yes" she mumbles, shaking her head. "Alice wouldn't let me eat. She hid all of my snacks"

"How long?" I ask, laughing.

"All day" she deadpans. "I haven't eaten…all day."

"Well, let's get you fed" I smile, opening the door for her.

She walks in and sniffs the air, before turning to the left. "I smell chicken teriyaki. I'll be back in 5 minutes" she says, before walking away.

"Sorry, man" Jasper comes and gives me a man hug. "That sucks"

"It okay" I shrug. "He did a good job."

"You gotta admit" Rose pipes in, wiping some food from her mouth, "A king of England with a speech impediment beats a douchebag deadbeat father and husband when it comes to Oscar season."

"You were great, though" he says. "I have a feeling the script you read is the key to the statue" he says, pointing to Martin Scorcese.

I give myself a once over and make my way over to talk with the famous director about the movie.

"Where is your fiancé'…or wife…or whatever?" Leah Clearwater stops in front of me.

"We aren't eng…"

"Quit the shit. I've seen you two… more than I'd like to" she grimaces, probably thinking about when she caught us almost fucking in the bathroom. "You are soooo getting married. It's okay. I won't tell…mostly because I don't care" she stage whispers.

"Follow the smell of food" I laugh and point her to where Bella went off to.

As she leaves, I gather my balls and make my way over. I don't believe in kissing people's asses to get jobs. I'd like to think that over the years, my body of work speaks for itself. So, after Scorcese if done talking, I tap him on his shoulder.

I spend about 30 seconds telling him that I read the script and would love to work with him. After that, I left feeling pretty good.

"Hey sweetie" Bella smiles, wrapping her arms around me. "Scorcese. Nice" she grins.

"He sent me the Lions & Lambs script" I tell her, trying not to sound excited.

"Really?" she asks, matching my excitement. "I know you wanted to do that"

"A lot of people want it" I say, eyeing Christian Bale who just walked up to the director.

"If it's meant to be, it'll happen" she says, before kissing me. "Edward?"

"Yes" I smile.

"Does this dress make me look fat?" she asks, rubbing her hands on her stomach.

"What?" I ask, looking at her like she's crazy. How could she look fat in anything? She only weighs like 100 pounds. "No!" I laugh.

"You sure?" she asks, looking straight into my eye. "Yes" I laugh some more. "Why would you think that?"

"Natalie Portman asked me how far along I was" she mumbles, looking at the ground.

"She didn't"

"Yeah. She did" she giggles. "I want having some chicken teriyaki rice thing…then I found out they were having steak…then I found some smoked salmon. She came out of nowhere, and was all like, 'Aww. How far are you? Your child will be so adorable.'" I wish you the best" she says, in her Natalie Portman voice. "I was so horrified. I almost didn't finish my plate" she shakes her head.

"I told you" Jasper laughs. "Bump watch"

"It's probably because you eat so much" Em chimes in, eating something. I'm not quite sure what it was.

"I'm pregnant and I don't eat as much as you" Rose says, laughing. Bella throws her the bitch face.

"Bean" Bella retorts.

"Stop calling my son Bean!" Rose hisses. "Even Emmett is saying it now. I swear, I'm gonna give your kids horrible nicknames"

"Well, if they're anything like me they won't care" Bella laughs at her, as Emmett follows suit.

"Hey Bella" says my Inception co-star. "Hey Edward"

"Joseph!" Bella says, giggling. "It's been forever. How are you?"

Joseph Gordon fucking Levitt. I haven't told Bella anything, but it seems like every time we're in the same room together longer than 20 minutes, he asks me how Bella is doing.

Did he just look at her chest? Eyes up top buddy.

"It's been good" he says. "I just wanted to say hi. " he says before walking away

Bella starts to rub my back as he walks away.

"You're ridiculous" Bella says, laughing. "I felt you shaking"

"Whatever" I say.

We stay a bit longer before deciding to head home. I take the time during the ride to finish the discussion we were talking about earlier.

"What neighborhood do you want to live in?"

"Nowhere pompous like Bel Air or Beverly Hills…please?" she asks, looking at me.

"Come on" I throw my hands in the air. "You're sucking all the fun out of it"

"We don't need a 9 bedroom house, Edward"

"What about the kids?" I ask, interested. "I want a house full of kids"

"Wait a minute. You want to have 7 kids?" she asks, grabbing her crotch.

"Wouldn't it be 8… if the house is 9 bedrooms?"

"One room would be for guests" she explains calmly, before grabbing her crotch again.

"7 would be nice" I smile at her, enjoying seeing her sweat.

"What the Hell Edward?" she asks. "You're trying to turn my vagina into Grand Central Station!"

"Calm down" I laugh. "I promise, we won't get a house bigger than 7…"

"6" she interrupts, staring at me.

"Fine" I relinquish. "No houses bigger than 6 bedrooms…with an attic, basement, pool, tennis court, basketball…"

"Edward" she gasps. "That's so expensi…"

"We have money" I laugh at her. "Trust fund baby, remember?" I ask, pointing to myself.

"It's just… I don't want you to think I'm only mar…"

"I don't think that" I interrupt, already knowing what she's thinking. "I like making you feel happy and secure. Let me do this. Please?" I ask, kissing her neck.

That's the spot.

"That's not fair" she moans into my neck.

"I've been known to fight dirty" I say, running my hand inside the slit on her gown to caress her breast, before sucking her bottom lip into my mouth.

She wasn't wearing a bra.

"Just…ooh…p-promise me…no obscene…oh God… amounts of m…"

"Of course" I shriek, as she starts to unzip the fly on my pants. Then, the car stopped.

"Fuck"

"Damn it!"

"Again?" I ask no one in particular, as I zip my pants up.

"One of these days" Bella shakes her head, and straightens her dress.

"I look forward to it" I smile, kissing her neck again for good measure.

We head inside and quickly start to take off our clothes to get more comfortable.

"Edward?" Bella asks. "Speaking of large amounts of money…I've been thinking about something."

I'm baaaack. I was done quicker than expected with my finals. I got out a couple of days early. I missed this story. For some reason, writing this chapter was like pulling teeth. Maybe it's because I had to write so many papers. Oh well… sorry if it sucked. I promise the next one will be better. I plan on introducing another character next chapter. Can anyone guess?

Hey, guys!

I'm starting work on Charlie's Daughter. I should have the first chapter up by next week. I've been in a funk for the past few months. Writing tends to help me out. For those who aren't familiar with the plot of Charlie's Daughter...

**Charlie Swan is an international conman who has been on the run from the FBI for the past 15 years. Edward Masen is an FBI agent with a score to settle against Charlie. When the FBI receives a tip, Edward uses unorthodox methods to track Charlie. He gets close to hotshot lawyer Bella Swan, Charlie's daughter and the last person to see Charlie face-to-face in the US in hopes of finding leads to catch his target.**

**FedWard/LegalElla**


	27. Chapter 27

Hey!

The first chapter of Charlie's Daughter is up. Check it out. I know some of you have been waiting a long time for it.


	28. Chapter 28

Hey!

The first chapter of Charlie's Daughter is up. Check it out. I know some of you have been waiting a long time for it.


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